UC-NRLF 


SB    537    ^D 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 


PRESENTED  BY 

PROF.  CHARLES  A.  KOFOID  AND 

MRS.  PRUDENCE  W.  KOFOID 


NORDURFARI, 


OR 


RAMBLES  IN  ICELAND. 


BY  PLINY  MILES 


Nefudan  N"or5urfara 
Nu  a  hann  a5  svara 

Fyrir  fyr5a  tvo; 
Vir5i5  yel  J>o8  gaman! 
Vi$  ]?vi  sattir  framan 
Erum  allir  saman — 

E5a  mun  ei  svo? 
Ju — allir  Isalandi 
Unum  vi5  og  sandi 

Er  blaar  barur  ]>vo. 

Brinjulfsson. 


NEW  YORK: 

CHARLES  B.  NORTON,  71  CHAMBERS  STREET, 

1854. 


Entebed  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1854,  by 

CHARLES  B.  NORTON, 

In  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  Southern  District  of 

New  York. 


Baker,  Godwin  &  Co.,  Printers, 
1  Spruce  St.,  New  York. 


DL3/2 


TO 

PHILIP    JAMES    BAILEY, 

AUTHOR     OF     "FESTTJS," 
I3ST    ADMOCDEIATXO^    03P    MIS    &E35ffXT3S, 

RESPECT    FOR    HIS    CHARACTER, 

REMEMBRANCE    OF   HIS   FRIENDSHIP 

AND  THE  MANY 
VALUABLE    HOURS    SPENT  ED    HIS    SOCIETY, 

THIS    UNPRETENDING    VOLUME 

Xa    <aflectionat*Ia 

INSCRIBED. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE, xni 

CHAPTER    I. 

The  Voyage — Stop  a  day  at  Elsinore — Elsinore  Castle,  Hamlet,  and 
Shakspeare — "Independence  Day"  at  Sea — Fourth  of  July 
Oration — Whales  and  Sharks — Passengers,  Live  Stock,  Books, 
and  Amusements — The  Meal  Sack — Sea-Birds — The  Gannet,  or 
Solan  Goose — Land  at  Reykjavik,       .        .        .       Page  17-32 

CHAPTER    II. 

Iceland,  its  Discovery  and  Settlement — Discovery  and  Settlement 
of  Greenland  and  North  America  by  the  Icelanders — Ericsson 
— Trading  and  Skirmishing  between  the  Icelanders  and  the 
North  American  Indians — Voyage  of  Columbus  to  Iceland — 
Icelandic  Congress,  or  Althing — Thingvalla,  the  Capital — Ad- 
ministration of  the  Laws, 33-47 

CHAPTER    III. 

Geographical  Features  of  Iceland — Productions  and  Minerals — 
Character  and  Literary  Taste  of  the  People — Wild  and  Domes- 
tic Animals — Exports  and  Imports — Chief  Towns — Habits  of 
the  Icelanders  of  Olden  Time — Beards,      .        .        .        48-60 


M3101.35 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Town  of  Reykjavik — Houses,  Gardens,  and  Productions — A  Ride 
in  the  Country — Visit  Hafnarfiorth — Preparations  for  a  Jour- 
ney in  the  Interior — A  Party  of  Travelers — Face  of  the  Coun- 
try— Salmon -Fishing — A  Tumble — Breakfast  on  the  Hill-side — 
Stop  at  a  Hotel! — Splendid  Scenery — Extraordinary  Purity  of 
the  Atmosphere — Almannagja,  or  Chasm  in  the  Rock — Arrive 
at  Thingvalla — Trout-Fishing  on  a  large  scale — Encamp  for  the 
Night, 61-75 

CHAPTER    V. 

Dining  Out — Many  Tongues,  but  no  Confusion — A  Merry  Dinner- 
party— Angling — Thingvalla,  and  place  of  Meeting  of  the  An- 
cient Althing — Daring  Act  of  a  Criminal — "If  you  Hang  a 
Rogue,  you  must  Catch  him  First" — Old  Customs — Introduction 
of  Christianity,  and  Fall  of  Idolatry — A  Lacteal  Disquisition — 
Company  Separate, 76-84 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Etymology  of  Icelandic  Words — Similarity  of  the  Icelandic  and 
English  —  The  Iceland  Numerals  —  Counting  —  Geographical 
Terms, 85-88 

CHAPTER    VII. 

Journeying  to  the  Eastward — A  Forest — Blacksmithing — Game- 
Birds — The  Ptarmigan — Iceland  Ladies  Riding  Horseback — 
Thingvalla  Lake — Rough  Traveling — First  View  of  Mount 
Hekla — Broad  Valleys  and  Large  Rivers — A  Cave,  and  Such  a 
Cave-! — Singular  Cataract — Frail  Bridge — Arrive  at  the  Gey- 
sers,             89-99 


CONTENTS.  VII 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

The  Great  Geyser — Its  Size  .  and  Appearance — Numerous  Hot 
Springs  in  the  Vicinity — Springs  of  Boiling  Mud — Beautiful 
Colored  Clays — A  Seething  Cauldron — The  Little  Geyser — 
Wait  for  an  Eruption  of  the  Great  Geyser — Singular  Warnings, 
or  Signal  Guns — An  Eruption — The  Strokr,  another  Geyser — 
Forced  Eruption  of  the  Strokr — Surtshellir,  or  the  Devil's  Cave 
— A  Warm  Bath — How  to  Cook  a  Dinner  without  Fire — Beau- 
tiful Birds — Termination  of  the  "  Show,"        .        .         100-113 

CHAPTER    IX. 

Journey  towards  Mount  Hekla — Iceland  Rivers — Haying — An  Ice- 
land Meadow — How  the  Horses  Live — Beautiful  Birds — The 
Pochard — Playing  Mazeppa — Swimming  a  River  Horseback — 
— A  Hospitable  Icelander — Herre  Johann  Briem — Slanders  and 
Falsehoods  of  Madame  Pfeiffer,         .         .        .         .       114-123 

CHAPTER    X. 

Productions  of  Iceland — White  Clover — A  Singular  'Ferry — Horses 
Swimming — Sleeping  Under  the  Bed — Sleeping  in  a  Church — 
An  Iceland  Salute — Iceland  Horses — An  Icelander  with  a  Brick 
in  his  Hat — Boyish  Sports — Rolling  Stones  down  Hill — Guess  1 
rolled  a  Big  One  down — Guess  it  knocked  the  Stone  Wall 
over — "  Guess  "  a  certain  Yankee  had  to  pay  for  it,  too,  124-131 

CHAPTER    XI. 

Ascent  of  Mount  Hekla— Preparations  and  "  Victualing  "  for  the 
Trip — Mountain  Gorges — Hard  Climbing  for  Ponies — Obliged 
to  Dismount,  and  leave  our  Horses — Streams  of  Lava — Smoke 
and  Fire — Variegated  Appearance  and  Color  of  the  Lava — 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

Almost  an  Accident — Up,  up  the  Mountain — Hard  Climbing — 
A  Lonely  Flower  on  Mount  Hekla — Beautiful  Weather — Snow 
— Craters  of  the  Late  Eruption — Fire  and  Brimstone — Awful 
Scene,  and  Dangerous  Traveling — Arrive  on  the  Summit — An 
Elevated  Dinner — Boundless  View  from  the  Top — Descent  into 
the  Large  Crater — Ancient  Snow-Banks — Descent  of  the  Mount- 
ain,           132-146 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Volcanoes  in  Iceland — A  Submarine  Eruption — Awful  Eruption  of 
Skaptar  Jokull  in  1*783— Terrible  Destruction  of  Life  and  Prop- 
erty— Details  of  the  Eruption — A  River  of  Fire — "  Fiske  Vatn  " 
— A  Mountain  Giant  Drinking  up  a  Lake — Eruptions  of  Mount 
Hekla  since  the  year  1000, 14*7-155 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

Pleasing  Customs — "  Son  of  man,  set  thy  face  against  the  daugh- 
ters of  thy  people  " — Roses  in  Iceland — Fields  of  Beautiful 
Heath — Skarth — Crossing  the  Ferry — A  Lofty  Cataract — The 
Westmann  Islands — People  on  Volcanic  Rocks,  3,000  feet  above 
the  Sea — One  Half  of  the  World  never  knows  how  the  other 
Half  lives— Climbing  Crags  for  Sea-Fowl — Islands  Plundered 
by  Pirates, 156-168 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

Game-Birds  of  Iceland— Wild  Reindeer— Ravens— Skalholt— A 
Merry  Sysselman— Good  Cheer  in  Prospect,  "  for  he's  a  jolly 
good  fellow V — Finally  concluded  not  to  stay  all  night  with 
him — Took  "  a  Horn,"  and  lefc,       .  •  .        .         169-176 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER    XV. 

Stay  at  Hraungerthi — Rev.  Mr.  Thorarensen  and  Family— Christian- 
ity, Comfort,  and  Refinement — Church-yard  and  Homes  of  the 
Dead — Gardening  and  Farming  in  Iceland — Iceland  Hospitality, 

177-184 

CHAPTER    XVI. 

Leave  Hraungerthi — A  Pretty  Girl,  and  a  Man  not  so  Pretty — 
Crossing  a  Ferry — The  Reykir  Springs — Singular  Group  of 
Boiling  Fountains  and  Geysers — Nero,       .        .         .      185-192 

CHAPTER    XVII. 

An  Icelander  in  a  Warm  Bath — A  Churl — Not  born  to  be  drowned 
— Vogsosar — Rev.  Mr.  Jonson — Hospitality  again — Drift-wood 
— Plum-pudding  Stone — Arrive  at  Krisuvik,         .  193-199 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 

Krisuvik — The  Sulphur  Mountains — Fire  and  Brimstone — Sulphur 
Mines — Jet  of  Steam  from  a  Hole  in  a  Rock — A  Mud  Geyser — 
"Stones  of  Sulphur," 200-207 

CHAPTER    XIX. 

Leave  the  Sulphur  Mountains — Fun  with  Mr.  Philmore— Stealing 
another  Man's  Thunder — Up  and  down  Hills — A  Horrible 
Road — Arrive  at  Hafnarfiorth — Visit  at  Mr.  Johnson's — House 
full  of  Pretty  Girls — A  Lady  in  a  "fix"— A  Bachelor  in  the 
same — Girls  Riding  Horseback — The  Town  and  Harbor  of  Haf- 
narfiorth— Journey  to  Reykjavik,  and  Cordial  Reception, 

208-217 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XX. 

Ornithology  of  Iceland  — Eider-Ducks  Half  Domesticated,  yet 
Wild— A  Bird  that  won't  be  Caught — Cormorants — The  Gan- 
net,  or  Solan  Goose 218-225 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

Snow-Birds— Gulls— The  Iceland  Gull— Skua  Gull— The  Great 
White  Owl — The  Jer-Falcon,  or  Iceland  Falcon — His  Unequaled 
Velocity  on  the  Wing — Falcon  of  Henry  IV.  carrying  the  Mail 
from  Paris  to  Malta— Trained  Falcons,       .'        .        .       226-232 

C  H  APTER    XXII. 

The  Faroe  Isles — Little  known  to  Modern  Travelers — Majestic 
Scenery — Thorshaven — The  "  Witch's  Finger  " — Men  Climbing 
Crags — A  Terrible  Chasm ;  a  Home  for  Sea-Fowl — Anecdote  of 
Graba — Norwegian  Collectors,  and  Faroese  Maidens,      233-241 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 

Northern  Mythology— The  Chaotic  World,  and  Scandinavian  idea 
of  Creation — Surtur  and  Surturbrand — Ymir — The  Myth  of  the 
Ash — Mimir's  Well — Odin,  Thor,  and  Baldur — Forseti,  the  God 
of  Justice — Bragi,  the  God  of  Poetry — Frey — Freyja,  Heimdal 
and  Hodur — The  Goddesses,  the  Valkyrjor,  and  the  Noras, 

242-253 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

Mythology  of  the  Northmen,   Concluded — Day   and  Night — The 
Earth,  Sun,  and  Moon — Loki,  the  Wolf  Fenrir,  the  Midgard 


CONTENTS.  XI 

Serpent,  and  Tyr — Hela,  or  Death — Valhalla — Death  of  Baldur 
— Adventures  of  Thor  with  the  Giants  of  Jotunheim — Ragnarok, 

254-267 

CHAPTER    XXV. 

Early  Literature  of  the  Icelanders — Eddas  and  Sagas — Manners 
and  Customs  of  the  Period — Extracts  from  the  Poetic  Edda, 

268-280 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 

Modern  Icelandic  Literature — Icelandic  Poetry — Jon  Thorlakson's 
Translations  of  Milton  and  Pope — Burns'  Bruce's  Address — Ice: 
landic  Hymn — Franklin's  Story  of  a  Whistle — Quotations  from 
an  Iceland  Newspaper, 281-292 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 

Matters  Personal,  Literary,  and  General — Manners  and  Customs  of 
the  People — Iceland  Politics — Books  and  Newspapers — Con- 
gressional Reports — Sir  Henry  Holland — Danish  Laws  Prohib: 
iting  Trade  with  Iceland — Productions — Prospects  of  Trade 
being  Opened  to  the  World — Letter  from  President  Johnson  on 
the  Subject— Trade  Opened  to  the  World,      .        .        293-302 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

Agricultural  Resources  of  Iceland — Improvements  needed — Dis- 
eases and  Medical  Practice — Public  Worship  in  Reykjavik — 
Ancient  Costume — Further  Extracts  from  President  Johnson's 
Letters — Social  Evenings — Young  Ladies  of  Iceland;  their  Edu- 
cation and  Accomplishments — Mr.  Brinjulfssoa — Take  Leave  of 
Friends— Embarkation,     .  * 303-312 


XII  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 

Voyage  to  Copenhagen — Snaefell  Jokull  from  the  Sea — Basaltic 
Cliffs  of  Stapi — The  "Needles" — Portland — Mountains  on  the 
South  Coast  of  Iceland — Hospitality  of  the  Icelanders  to  French 
Sailors  Shipwrecked — Liberality  of  Louis  Philippe — Loss  of  the 
Lilloise — Scandinavian  Commission — Geimar's  Great  Work — 
Mr.  Sivertsen — Young  Ladies  on  Ship-board — Music — Dancing 
on  a  Rocking  Deck — Captain  of  the  Soloven — Contrary  Winds 
— Arrive  at  Copenhagen, 313-320 


r  £1V  *  / 


(j 


PREFACE. 


A  Preface  to  a  book,  is  a  sort  of  pedestal  where  the 
author  gets  up  to  make  a  speech  ;  frequently  an  apologizing 
ground,  where  he  "  drops  in — hopes  he  don't  intrude ;"  a 
little  strip  of  green  carpet  near  the  foot-lights,  where  he 
bows  to  the  audience,  and  with  a  trembling  voice  asks  them 
to  look  with  lenient  eyes  on  his  darling  bantling  that  is  just 
coming  before  the  world.  Very  likely  he  tells  of  the  nu- 
merous difficulties  and  disadvantages  under  which  he  has 
labored  ;  perhaps  apologizes  for  his  style,  under  the  plea  of 
writing  against  time,  and  that  he  has  been  greatly  hurried. 
Readers  and  critics  are  usually  indulgent  towards  the  minor 
faults  of  an  author,  provided  he  entertains  or  instructs 
them ;  but  they  pay  little  attention  to  special  pleadings. 
The  writer  who  deliberately  perpetrates  a  stupid  or  silly 
book,  deserves  the  fate  of  dunces — obloquy  and  contempt. 
If  he  adds  to  this  the  double  crime  of  setting  up  a  justifica- 
tion, and  askst  hat  his  work  be  not  subject  to  the  usual 
canons  of  criticism,  then  the  reviewers  should  level  their 
heaviest  guns,  pepper  him  pungently,  and  prove  him  but  a 
buzzard,  while  he  claimed  the  honors  of  a  game-cock.  We 
however,  have  a  right  to  expect  and  demand  more  from  a 
veteran  author,  than  from  a  young  and  inexperienced  one. 


XIV  PREFACE. 

The  world  is  so  perverse,  so  incorrigibly  an  unbeliever, 
that  very  likely  it  would  not  credit  a  word  of  it — without 
finding  the  statements  proved — if  the  author  of  this  little 
volume  were  to  say,  that  it  was  a  readable  and  valuable 
work,  "just  what  has  been -wanted," — a  good  thing,  and  in 
season.  Yet,  gentle  reader,  "  and  still  gentler  purchaser," 
seeing  you  have  paid  your  dollar  ! — it  is  most  undoubtedly 
true  of  the  "  Rambles  "  of  this  "  Northurfari,"  your  humble 
and  obliged  servant. 

Dropping  the  eyw,  he  will  tell  you  how  it  was.  Spend- 
ing a  few  years  in  travel,  he  found  himself  after  the  "  Great 
Exhibition "  epoch,  like  the  unconquered  and  unconquera- 
ble Macedonian,  seeking  for  a  world  to  pommel — with  his 
footsteps — and  after  diligent  and  long-continued  search  on 
all  the  maps  of  all  the  Wylds,  Johnstones,  and  Coltons  in 
Christendom,  could  find  but  one  land  that  was  untrodden ; 
but  one  that  was  not  as  contemptibly  common  as  Irkoutsk, 
Timbuctoo,  or  the  Niger  itself.  Iceland  was  the  shining 
bit  of  glacier,  the  one  piece  of  virgin  ore,  the  solitary  lump 
of  unlicked  lava ;  and  straightway  to  Iceland  he  went.  It 
might  not  interest  his  readers  any,  were  they  to  be  told 
whether  these  pages  were  written  in  the  saddle,  or  on  Mount 
Hekla  ;  in  a  tar-painted  house  in  Reykjavik,  or  in  a  marble 
palace  in  London  ;  on  the  deck  of  a  Danish  schooner,  in  a 
continuous  summer  day  of  the  Arctic  sea,  or  by  the  light 
of  bright  eyes  in  Scotia's  land.  It  so  happens  that  the  most 
of  them  were  penned  in  the  Ultima  Thule,  the  Terra  Incog- 
nita which  they  attempt  to  describe ;  and  very  little  has 
been  altered  or  amended  since  the  original  draft.    The  spirit 


PREFACE.  XV 

of  travel  is  the  freshest  at  the  time  the  travel  is  enjoyed  ; 
and  all  impressions  are  then  the  most  vivid.  What  is  written 
on  the  spot,  carries  with  it  a  vraisemblance ;  and,  though 
an  after  revision  may  add  some  polish  to  the  style,  yet  to  a 
certain  extent,  it  takes  away  the  life  and  vivacity  of  the 
narrative.  This  "  polishing  "  and  "  editing  "  process,  may 
reduce  it  to  a  dead  flat,  and,  like  an  attempt  to  smooth  a 
butterfly's  wing,  remove  the  bloom,  and  leave  it  but  a  bony 
shard.  Slang  may  be  bearable,  though  it  can  hardly  be 
creditable  ;  puns  may  be  so  bad  that  some  might  call  them 
positively  good ;  but  dullness,  and  a  style  that  is  heavy  to 
stupidity,  are  the  unpardonable  sins  of  authorship.  This 
work,  however,  may  have  all,  and  more  than  all  these 
faults. 

There  are  no  accessible  books,  of  a  late  date,  in  our  lan- 
guage, that  give  either  an  intelligible  or  faithful  account  of 
Iceland.  The  object  of  the  following  chapters  has  been  to 
present  a  readable  and  truthful  narrative,  to  create  some 
interest  in  the  people,  the  literature,  and  the  productions  of 
the  lonely  isle  of  the  north ;  and  of  the  good  or  ill  perform- 
ance of  the  task,  the  public  must  be  the  judges. 

Washington  City,  June  1,  1854. 


CHAPTEE    I. 

"And  away  to  the  North,  'mong  ice-rocks  stern, 
And  among  the  frozen  snow ; 
To  a  land  that  is  lone  and  desolate, 
Will  the  wand'ring  traveler  go." 

Heigho  !  for  Iceland.  The  little  schooner  "  Soloven  " 
rides  at  anchor  before  Copenhagen.  His  Danish  Majesty's 
mails  are  on  board,  and  at  4  o'clock,  A.  M.,  July  1st,  we  are 
set  on  deck.  Yes ;  "  we,"  and  a  nice  lot  we  are, — at  least  a 
round  dozen,  and  a  cabin  scarcely  six  feet  square,  with 
only  six  berths  and  a  sofa.  "  Every  berth's  engaged,"  said 
the  captain ;  "  and  you  can't  go  with  us."  "  Yes,  but  I  can 
though,  if  I  sleep  on  deck."  So  I  ran  my  chance ;  and 
when  sleeping  hours  arrived,  I  was  stretched  out  on  a  sort 
of  swing  sofa  in  the  middle  of  the  cabin,  suspended — like 
Mahomet's  coffin — between  floor  and  skylight.  As  it  turned 
out,  though  I  took  Hobson's  choice,  I  had  altogether  the 
best  berth  in  the  ship ;  the  most  room,  and  the  best  ventil- 
ation. So  up  the  Cattegat  we  sailed,  or  rather  down,  for 
the  current  runs  north,  towards  the  German  ocean.  The 
Soloven — Anglice, -sea-lion — is  a  capital  sailer,  and  we 
made  good  headway — the  first  day  exactly  sixteen  miles ; 
and  the  next  morning  found  us  fast  at  anchor  under  the 
guns  of  the  far-famed  castle  of  Elsinore.  Nearly  a  hundred 
2 


18  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

vessels  were  in  sight,  wind-bound  like  ourselves.  "  There 
goes  a  Yankee  schooner !"  says  our  skipper;  and  faith !  right 
in  the  teeth  of  the  wind  it  dashed  by,  with  the  stars  and 
stripes  flying.  How  the  little  fellow  managed  to  get  along, 
is  more  than  I  know ;  but  sail  it  did,  and  it  was  the  only 
craft  in  sight  that  was  not  at  anchor.  A  fisherman  came 
alongside  to  sell  some  codfish  he  had  just  caught.  He 
asked  a  dollar  and  a  half — nine  marks,  Danish — for  about 
a  dozen.  He  and  the  captain  were  a  long  time  pushing  the 
bargain,  and  finally  Piscator  concluded  to  take  four  marks 
— less  than  half  his  first  price. 

There's  no  prospect  of  a  fair  wind,  and  most  tantalizing 
it  is  to  be  cooped  up  in  our  little  craft,  scarce  a  stone's 
throw  from  shore,  and  right  in  sight  of  gardens,  fields, 
streams,  and  waving  trees.  Signalling  for  a  pilot-boat,  we 
soon  had  one  along  side.  These  water-ousels  know  their 
trade,  and  by  a  combination  among  them  no  one  stirs  for 
less  than  five  dollars.  The  purse  was  soon  made  up,  and  we 
had  a  day  at  Elsinore.  Indeed  I  enjoyed  it.  Didn't  "  come 
from  Wittenberg,"  Horatio.  No,  but  we  came  from  Copen- 
hagen. Though  but  twenty-four  hours  on  board,  it  was  a 
joyous  sensation  to  touch  the  ground.  A  lot  of  people  on 
the  quay ;  sailors  of  all  nations,  land-lubbers — like  your 
humble  servant — merchants,  pilots,  idlers,  and  various  other 
specimens  of  the  genus  homo.  One  nut-brown  looking 
chap,  with  the  round  jacket  and  flowing  trowsers  that  gave 
the  unmistakable  stamp  of  his  profession,  rolling  the  quid 
in  his  cheek,  and  looking  at  me,  sings  out,  "  Old  England 
forever !"     "  Yes,"  says  I,  "  and  America  a  day  longer." 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  19 

Here,  at  Elsinore,  are  six  or  seven  thousand  people,  who 
subsist  on  contrary  winds,  shipwrecks,  pilotage,  and  that 
celebrated  "toll" — a  mere  five-dollar  bill,  only — that  all 
vessels  pay  that  trade  in  the  Baltic.  Danish  vessels  pay 
nothing.  If  a  foreign  vessel  passes  here  without  paying,  at 
Copenhagen  she  has  to  pay  double.  This  toll  has  been  paid 
for  over  500  years ;  and  for  this  consideration,  I  am  informed, 
the  Danish  government  keep  up  the  light-houses  that  guide 
the  mariner  in  and  out  of  the  Baltic.  It  is  not  as  heavy  as 
the  light-house  fees  of  most  other  nations.  This  place  is 
sacred  to  Shakspeare,  and  Hamlet,  Prince  of  Denmark,  and 
Ophelia,  "  the  beautified  Ophelia  " — an  "  ill  phrase  "  that,  a 
"  vile  phrase,"  says  old  Polonius  ;  and  their  names  still  live, 
albeit  their  imperial  persons, 

"dead  and  turned  to  clay, 


Might  stop  a  hole  to  keep  the  wind  away." 

All  this  the  Danes  seem  to  remember,  for  two  splendid 
steamers,  the  "  Hamlet  "  and  the  "  Ophelia,"  run  regularly 
between  here  and  Copenhagen ;  and  as  if  to  disprove  the 
poet's  account,  they  run  in  unison  with  one  another.  We 
soon  found  our  way  to  the  castle,  about  half  a  mile  from 
town,  through  a  long,  shady  walk  overhung  with  trees. 
Somehow,  when  we  read  of  the  castle  of  Elsinore,  and  of 
Bernardo  and  Francisco  keeping  sentry  before  it,  and  the 
platform,  and  the  ghost  appearing  there,  it  hardly  seems  as 
if  it  was  a  real  castle  that  we  could  now  see  and  visit,  and 
climb  over,  and  withal  find  sentries  keeping  guard  over !  But 
here  it  is,  and  as  substantial  and  real  as  that  of  Britain's  queen 


20  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

at  Windsor.  I  spent  an  hour  on  its  lofty  battlements.  Here, 
too,  is  the  "  ordnance,"  such  as  the  small-beer  critics  are 
always  abusing  Shakspeare  for  having  "  shot  off."  Yes,  the 
theater  manager,  actor,  and  dramatist,  in  his  play  of  Ham- 
let, adds  to  his  text,  "  ordnance  shot  off  within" — while  these 
small-fry  scribblers  cry  out  "  anachronism."  Yes,  they  have 
found  out  the  wonderful  fact  that  king  Hamlet  reigned  here 
about  the  year  1200,  while  gunpowder — "thy  humane 
discovery,  Friar  Bacon !" — was  unknown  for  more  than  a 
hundred  years  after.  Go  to :  yes,  go  to  Elsinore,  and  now 
you'll  find  ordnance  enough  to  fire  off,  and  blow  up  all  the 
paltry  criticism  that  has  been  fired  at  Shakspeare  since  he 
first  lampooned  Sir  Thomas  Lucy. 

The  castle  of  Elsinore  stands  close  beside  the  water,  the 
big  guns  sticking  out  directly  over  the  Cattegat.  On  the 
land  side  it  is  defended  by  bastions,  cannon,  moat,  gates, 
and  draw-bridge.  The  castle  covers,  perhaps,  two  acres  of 
ground,  inclosing  a  hollow  square  or  court  yard  in  the  cen- 
ter. It  is  unlike  any  other  castellated  pile  I  have  ever  seen. 
At  the  corners  are  towers  of  different  heights ;  the  tallest 
one  is  about  175  feet  high,  and  looks  like  a  pile  of  Dutch 
cheeses,  the  largest  at  the  bottom.  The  party  I  was  with 
were  all  Danes  ;  and,  though  their  language  is  cousin-Ger- 
man to  our  Anglo-Saxon,  and  I  could  in  part  understand  it, 
as  if  "  native  and  to  the  manor  born,"  yet  I  preferred  my 
own.  With  another  party  was  a  very  pretty  and  intelligent 
German  girl,  who  spoke  English,  and  was  acquainted  with 
the  place  ;  and  to  her  I  was  indebted  for  the  best  viva  voce 
account  that  I  had.     We  were  first  taken  into  the  chapel,  a 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  21 

small  and  very  neat  place  of  worship  in  the  south-east  angle 
of  the  castle.  The  glaring  and  rather  gaudy  style  of  the 
coats  of  arms  of  the  royal  and  noble  families  whose  dead 
are  here,  gave  it  something  of  a  gingerbread  appearance ; 
but  otherwise  I  liked  it.  I  looked  in  vain  for  a  monument 
to  Mr.  Shakspeare's  hero.  Could  I  have  found  that  skull 
of  Yorick,  "  the  king's  jester,"  I  think  I  should  have  carried 
it  off  as  a  sacred  relic,  and  made  a  present  of  it  to  Ned 
Forrest.  Alas  !  no  Yorick,  no  Hamlet,  no  Polonius — not 
one  of  their  "  pictures  in  little,"  nor  even  a  slab  to  their 
memory,  could  I  see.  We  ascended  one  of  the  corner  tow- 
ers— used  as  a  light-house  and  observatory,  and  provided 
with  telescopes — from  whence  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the 
Cattegat,  the  island  of  Zeeland,  and  the  lofty  range  of 
Swedish  mountains  on  the  opposite  coast.  Directly  across 
the  strait,  some  three  miles  distant,  is  the  Swedish  town  of 
Helsingborg,  a  place  about  the  size  of  Elsinore.  The  promi- 
nent object  in  it  is  a  tall  square  tower,  probably  the  steeple 
of  a  church.  In  one  room  of  the  castle,  where  I  could 
fancy  the  "melancholy  Dane"  in  his  "inky  cloak,"  the 
Queen,  with  "  her  husband's  brother,"  and  Rosencrantz  and 
Guildernstern,  and  old  blear-eyed  Polonius,  too,  there  was  a 
broad  fire-place,  with  the  mantel-piece  supported  by  cary- 
atidae  on  each  side.  When  some  of  our  scenic  artists  are 
painting  "  a  room  in  the  castle  "  of  Elsinore,  for  a  scene  in 
Hamlet,  if  they  have  no  better  guide,  they  may  remember 
the  above  slight  description,  if  they  please.  Any  traveler 
visiting  Elsinore,  will  find  this  room  in  the  northeast  corner 
of  the  castle,  and  on  the  second  or  third  floor.     We  walked 


22  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

out  on  the  ramparts,  and  saw  a  few  soldiers :  wonder  if  any 
of  them  have  the  name  of  Bernardo  or  Francisco  !  The  men 
on  guard  were  lolling  lazily  about,  not  walking  back  and 
forth  like  English  or  American  sentries.  The  smooth-mown 
embankments,  the  well-mounted'  guns,  and  the  "  ball-piled 
pyramid,"  with  the  neat  appearance  of  the  soldiers,  showed 
the  good  condition  in  which  the  castle  is  kept.  No  marks 
of  ruin  or  decay  are  visible.  I  tried  to  find  some  musket 
bullet,  or  something  besides  a  mere  pebble,  that  I  could  take 
away  as  a  souvenir,  but  I  could  get  nothing.  A  woman 
was  in  attendance  in  the  chapel,  but  no  one  accompanied  us 
about  the  castle;  no  gratuities  were  asked,  no  "guides" 
proffered  their  obsequious  services ;  but  I  believe  the  Ger- 
man party  knew  the  locality,  for  we  found  "  open  sesame  "  on 
every  latch.  I  thanked  the  fair  German  for  her  explana- 
tion ;  and  we  walked  to  town,  back,  through  the  avenue  of 
trees.  At  four  we  went  to  a  hotel,  and  had  a  capital  dinner. 
I  then  strolled  about  the  place,  looked  at  the  "  sights  " — all 
there  were  to  be  found — went  to  a  book-store  and  a  toy- 
shop, and  bought  some  prints  and  some  little  porcelain 
dolls. 

A  very  merry  day  I've  had  at  Elsinore,  on  the  firm  earth ; 
and  now  for  the  rocking  ship.  Yes,  a  pleasant  day  we've 
had,  but  perhaps  we  shall  pay  for  it  hereafter. 

Our  voyage  through  the  Cattegat  had  all  the  delay  and 
uncertainty  that  ever  attends  these  waters.  Strong  cur- 
rents and  light  and  contrary  winds  make  the  passage  slow ; 
but  it  is  usually  far  easier  coming  out  than  going  into  the 
Baltic.     In  a  few  days  we  were  north  of  the  German  ocean, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  23 

beating  along  the  Norway  coast  with  a  northwest  wind. 
We  passed  for  two  days  near  the  land,  and  had  a  good  view 
of  the  bold  mountain  scenery  northwest  of  Christiansand. 
Long  piles  of  mountains,  reaching  often  clear  to  the  water's 
edge,  showed  a  poor  country  for  cultivation.  The  most  dis- 
tant were  covered  with  snow,  but  the  nearest  were  all  of  that 
deep  brown  tint  that  reveals  a  scanty  vegetation.  Some- 
times the  strip  of  green  meadow  land  near  the  water  had  a 
house  on  it  here  and  there  ;  and  once  or  twice  villages  of 
twenty  or  thirty  buildings  were  seen,  all  built  of  wood,  and 
covered  with  red  tiles.  We  saw  none  of  those  famous  for- 
ests of  Norway  pine,  where  the  ship  timber  grows,  and 
which  English  ship-builders  tell  you  is  "  from  the  Baltic." 
These  must  be  in  the  interior.  On  the  fourth  of  July  I  was 
determined  to  have  some  fun.  The  captain  had  two  small 
cannon  on  board,  and  I  asked  him  if  I  might  have  some 
powder  to  wake  up  my  patriotism.  Yes,  he  was  quite 
willing.  I  produced  some  of  the  good  things  needful,  lem- 
ons, sugar,  et  cetera,  and  told  the  captain  to  mix  a  monster 
bowl  of  punch.  He  was  good  at  it ;  the  punch  was  capital, 
and  was  soon  smoking  on  the  table.  Our  cannon  were  iron 
pieces,  not  quite  heavy  enough  to  knock  down  the  Avails  of 
Badajos,  but  still  of  size  sufficient  for  our  purpose.  They 
were  mounted  on  each  side  of  the  vessel,  and  revolved  on 
swivels.  The  powder  was  furnished,  and  we  banged  away, 
waking  up  the  echoes  of  liberty  from  all  the  Norwegian 
mountains.  I  have  no  doubt  but  the  pilots  along  the  shore 
were  considerably  astonished.  Now,  says  the  captain,  we 
want  the  oration.  So  up  I  jumped  to  the  top  of  the  boom,  and 


24  RAMBLES    TN    ICELAXD. 

in  about  nine  minutes  and  a  quarter,  gave  them  the  whole 
account  of  the  cause,  the  means,  and  the  manner  of  Brother 
Jonathan  "  lickin'  the  Britishers."  The  captain  translated 
it  for  the  benefit  of  the  Danish  and  Icelandic  passengers, 
and  they  applauded  both  the  orator  and  translator.  The 
punch  was  glorious,  the  oration  was  undoubtedly  a  grand 
one,  the  cannon  spoke  up  their  loudest ;  and  altogether,  for  a 
celebration  got  up  by  one  live  Yankee,  it  probably  has  never 
been  surpassed  since  Burgoyne's  surrender  at  Saratoga.  It 
was  a  most  beautiful  evening,  and  very  pleasing  to  think 
that  at  that  very  hour  millions  of  my  countrymen,  far  far 
away  over  the  plains  and  valleys  of  my  native  land,  were 
enjoying  the  festivities  of  a  day,  the  events  of  which  will 
be  remembered  till  time  shall  be  no  more. 

The  weather  was  pleasant  for  some  days,  and  we  were 
gradually  wafted  towards  the  northwest.  Vessels  bound  to 
the  southwest  of  Iceland,  from  Denmark,  generally  sail  near 
Fair  Isle,  passing  between  the  Shetlands  and  the  Orkneys. 
We  were  carried  much  further  north,  the  ninth  day  finding 
us  near  the  lofty  cliffs  of  the  Faroes.  I  thought  after 
getting  past  the  parallel  of  60°  north,  in  the  latitude  of 
Greenland,  that  the  weather  would  be  perceptibly  colder ; 
and  probably  it  would  with  the  wind  constantly  from  the 
west  or  northwest;  but  with  a  southwest  breeze  we  had 
mild,  pleasant,  summer  weather.  Sea-birds,  particularly 
gulls,  were  our  constant  companions,  and  while  near  the 
Faroe  Isles  they  came  about  us  in  immense  numbers.  One 
day  one  of  these  lubberly  children  of  the  ocean  tumbled 
down  on  the  deck,  and   to  save  his  life  he  couldn't  rise 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  25 

again.  He  was  on  an  exploring  expedition,  and  I've  no 
doubt  he  learned  something.  He  didn't  seem  to  admire  the 
arrangements  about  our  ship  very  much,  and  altogether  he 
seemed  out  of  his  element.  We  had  one  or  two  confounded 
ugly  women  on  board,  and  I  don't  think  he  liked  the  looks 
of  them  very  much.  I  pitied  his  case,  and  raising  him  up 
in  the  air,  he  took  wing  and  soared  away.  No  doubt  he 
will  ever  retain  pleasant  recollections  of  his  Yankee  ac- 
quaintance, one  of  a  race,  who,  enjoying  their  own  liberty, 
greatly  like  to  see  others  enjoy  it  too.  We  had  a  fine  view 
of  the  magnificent  cliffs  of  the  Faroe  Isles,  some  of  them 
nearly  three  thousand  feet  high.  They  are  basaltic,  and 
often  columnar,  looking  much  like  the  cliffs  about  the  Gi- 
ant's Causeway  and  Fingal's  Cave  at  Staffa,  but  far  higher. 
We  continued  our  course  to  the  westward,  lost  sight  of 
land,  and  for  some  days  were  floating  on  a  smooth  sea,  with 
very  little  wind.  How  destitute  of  shipping  is  the  North- 
ern ocean  !  For  near  two  weeks  we  did  not  see  a  sail. 
Whales  frequently  came  near  the  vessel,  blowing  water  from 
their  spout  like  a  jet  from  a  fountain.  In  my  travels  by  sea 
I  had  never  seen  a  whale  before,  and  I  looked  on  their  gam- 
bols with  much  interest.  The  sight  of  them  very  naturally 
called  up  the  words  of  the  good  old  New-England  hymn  : 

"  Ye  monsters  of  the  bubbling  deep, 

Your  Maker's  praises  spout ; 
Up  from  the  sands  ye  codlings  peep, 

And  wag  your  tails  about." 

It  must  be  understood  that  I'm  fond  of  quotations,  par- 
ticularly poetry ;  and  all  must  admit  that  this  is  a  very 


26  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

appropriate  one.  Why  couldn't  good  old  Cotton  Mather, 
or  some  of  his  compeers,  have  given  us  some  more  of  this 
sort?  Perhaps  he  did,  but  if  so,  my  memory  has  not 
recorded  them. 

The  noise  of  a  whale  spouting  can  be  heard  from  one  to 
two  miles.  He  throws  the  water  from  thirty  to  fifty  feet 
high.  The  whale  rises  clear  to  the  surface  of  the  water, 
gives  one  "blow"  and  instantly  goes  under.  He  generally 
rises  again  in  one  or  two  minutes,  but  is  sometimes  under 
five  minutes.  Once  as  I  sat  on  the  bowsprit  watching  two 
or  three  that  were  playing  about,  one  swam  nearly  under 
me,  rose  up,  blew  a  blast  with  his  water-trumpet,  giving  me 
quite  a  sprinkling,  and  then  sank.  I  had  a  good  opportu- 
nity to  see  him,  and  got  a  fair  view  of  his  breathing  pipe. 
It  was  a  round  hole  in  the  top  of  his  head,  had  a  slight  rim 
round  it,  and  I  should  think  was  about  two  inches  and  a 
half  in  diameter.  This  animal,  as  near  as  I  could  judge, 
was  between  sixty  and  seventy  feet  in  length.  The  top  of 
his  head  and  shoulders  was  broad  and  flat,  and  near  or 
quite  twelve  feet  across.  His  back,  instead  of  appearing 
round,  was  nearly  level,  and  showed  room  enough  for  a 
quartette  of  Highlanders  to  have  danced  a  reel  thereon. 
'Twould  have  been  a  rather  slippery  floor  though,  and  I 
think  a  dancer  would  have  needed  nails  in  his  shoes. 

Loud  sung  out  the  captain  one  day,  and  looking  over 
the  side,  close  to  the  ship,  deep  under  the  clear  water,  we 
saw  a  shark.  0  !  it  makes  me  feel  savage  to  see  one  of 
these  monsters,  I  want  to  cut  out  his  heart's  blood.  Many  a 
good  Christian  do  these  villains  swallow.     The  captain  told 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  2*7 

us  that  one  Christmas  day  when  he  was  in  the  Pacific,  a 
shark  came  near,  and  a  large  hook  baited  with  a  piece  of 
pork  was  thrown  into  the  water ;  he  instantly  seized  it,  and 
they  hauled  the  monster  up  the  ship's  side,  and  an  officer 
on  board  drew  his  sword  and  cut  him  nearly  in  two,  before 
he  was  allowed  on  deck.  Each  passenger  took  some  part 
of  him  as  a  trophy  of  their  Christmas-day  fishing. 

I  had  a  few  books  on  board,  and  did  the  best  I  could  to 
make  the  time  pass  agreeably.  But  with  all  our  resources, 
literary,  ornithological,  piscatorial,  and  miscellaneous,  there 
were  many  dull  hours.  One  calm  day  I  got  out  my  writing 
materials,  and  thought  I  would  write  a  letter,  or  a  chapter 
of  these  wanderings.  After  getting  fairly  engaged,  a  sudden 
shower  seemed  to  dash  over  me ;  and  looking  up,  a  sailor 
"  high  on  the  giddy  mast,"  while  painting  the  yard  had 
upset  his  paint  pot,  and  down  the  white  shower  came  on  my 
hat,  coat,  paper  and  every  thing  around.  We  must  take 
things  coolly  on  shipboard,  as  well  as  elsewhere,  I  sup- 
pose ;  for  there  is  no  use  in  getting  vexed,  whatever  may 
chance.  As  for  the  letter,  I  sent  that  to  its  destination, 
with  all  its  imperfections  on  its  head.  I  scraped  the  paint 
off  my  hat,  and  the  mate  and  I  set  to  work  to  clean  my 
coat.  After  scrubbing  it  an  hour  or  two,  we  fastened  a  rope 
to  it,  and  throwing  it  overboard,  let  it  drag  in  the  sea  a  few 
hours.  The  soapsuds  and  old  Neptune  together  took  nearly 
all  the  paint  out,  but  it  never  entirely  recovered  from  the 
effects  of  the  shower  from  the  mainmast.  As  for  books,  I 
left  England  with  the  very  smallest  amount  of  luggage  pos- 
sible, restricting  myself  in  the  reading  line,  to  my  small 


28  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

Bible,  Sir  George  Mackenzie's  Travels  in  Iceland,  and  one 
or  two  more.  At  Copenhagen,  I  purchased  six  or  eight 
volumes  of  Leipsic  reprints  of  English  works — what  the 
publisher  calls  "Tauchnitz's  edition  of  standard  English 
authors ;  "  some  of  them  are  English  works,  but  by  what 
rule  of  nationality  he  reckons  among  his  English  authors 
the  works  of  Cooper  and  Irving,  I  do  not  know.  Among 
the  volumes  I  purchased,  were  some  from  Shakspeare, 
Byron,  Scott,  Dickens,  and  Bulwer.  I  found  my  reading, 
as  I  knew  I  should,  quite  too  scanty.  I  would  have  given 
something  for  Diodorus  Siculus,  and  good  old  Froissart ; 
two  books  that  it  would  take  a  pretty  long  sea-voyage  to 
get  through. 

Among  our  passengers  were  two  or  three  of  the  digni- 
taries of  Iceland ;  one  Sysselman,  and  the  landfoged  or 
treasurer  of  the  island,  William  Finsen,  Esq.  On  leaving 
London  I  took  two  or  three  late  American  papers  with  me ; 
and  in  one  of  them,  the  "  Literary  World,"  there  was  by 
chance,  a  notice  of  a  late  meeting  of  the  Society  of 
Northern  Antiquaries  at  Copenhagen.  Among  the  names 
of  distinguished  persons  present,  there  were  mentioned 
some  Danes,  some  Englishmen,  and  "some  Americans," 
and  among  the  latter,  William  Finsen  Esq.  of  Iceland  ! 
I  showed  this  to  Mr.  Treasurer  Finsen,  and  he  was  greatly 
amused  to  learn  that  he  was  a  Yankee.  We  had  among 
our  passengers  several  ladies — one,  a  Miss  Johnson,  a 
very  pretty,  intelligent,  modest-appearing  Iceland  lassie, 
who  had  finished  her  education  at  Copenhagen,  and  was 
returning  to  her  native  land  to  establish  a  female  school. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  29 

The  domestic  animals  on  board,  were  one  large,  curly-haired, 
black  dog,  who  rejoiced  in  the  name  of  "  Neeger,"  and  four 
rather  youthful  swine,  who  were  confined,  or  rather  were 
pretended  to  be  confined,  in  a  box.  The  first  day  out  they 
leaped  the  barriers  of  their  stye,  and  made  a  dinner  on  the 
slender  contents  of  several  flower  pots  that  the  lady  pas- 
sengers were  taking  out  to  cheer  the  windows  of  their 
parlors  in  their  Iceland  homes.  The  discovery  of  the 
depredation  was  any  thing  but  pleasant,  and  I  believe  had 
the  "  prices  of  stock "  been  taken  at  that  time,  live  pork 
would  have  been  quoted  as  falling,  and  if  not  clear  down, 
would  have  been  decided  to  be,  on  that  ship,  a  thorough 
bore.  Though  they  went  the  "whole  hog" — the  entire 
animal  in  the  floral  line— that  day,  they  did  not  sleep  or 
feast  on  roses  all  the  voyage.  They  did  not  like  their 
quarters  overmuch,  and  would  usually  manage  at  least  once 
a  day,  to  get  out  and  go  on  an  exploring  expedition  round 
the  deck. 

Our  living  on  board  was,  I  believe,  as  it  usually  is  on 
Danish  merchant  vessels.  It  consisted  principally  of  a  thin, 
watery  compound  called  "  soup,"  of  black  potatoes,  black 
beef,  and  yet  blacker  bread.  At  the  evening  meal  we  had 
for  drink,  hot  water  frightened  into  a  faint  color  by  a  gentle 
infusion  of  China's  favorite  plant.  This  drink  our  captain 
called  "tea."  Believing  that  good  order  on  shipboard  is 
much  promoted  by  subordination  and  submission  to  the 
commanding  officer,  I  never  used  to  tell  him  it  wasn't 
"tea."  If  strength,  however,  is  a  sign  of  life,  I  must  say 
that  this  showed  very  little  sign  of  vitality.      It  probably 


30  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

contained  at  least  half  a  teaspoonful  of  tea,  to  a  gallon  of 
water ;  but  Oh !  that  black  bread !  it  was  not  so  bad  an 
article,  though,  after  all.  We  had  one  blacker  thing  on 
board,  and  that  was  our  dog  "  Nigger."  The  good  boys 
and  girls  in  America,  who  eat  "Indian  bread,"  "wheat 
bread,"  "shortcake"  and  "johnny  cake,"  have  all  read  of 
the  peasants  of  Europe  living  on  "  black  bread,"  and 
wonder  what  it  is.  It  is  made  of  rye,  ground,  but  not 
bolted  much,  if  any ;  and  the  bread  is  very  dark,  a  good  deal 
darker  than  corn  bread.  At  first  I  did  not  like  it  very 
well,  and  at  Elsinore  I  purchased  a  couple  of  large  wheaten 
loaves.  This  bread  is  very  dear :  I  paid  half  a  dollar  a 
loaf;  these  lasted  me  about  ten  days,  but  before  that  time, 
the  mould  had  struck  clear  through  them.  Not  so  the 
black  bread.  That  keeps  much  better  than  wheaten  bread. 
The  mould  walks  into  it  gradually  however,  but  thoroughly. 
At  first  there  appeared  a  green  coat,  on  the  side  that  stood 
next  to  another  loaf  in  baking.  This  coat  of  mould  kept 
growing  deeper  and  deeper,  getting  first  the  eighth  of  an 
inch,  then  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
voyage,  over  half  an  inch  deep  of  solid  green.  Inside  of 
this  the  loaf  was  moist  and  fresh ;  and  certainly,  after  getting 
used  to  it,  it  is  very  good  bread.  It  was  the  "  staff  of  life  " 
with  us;  and  considerably  like  a  staff  the  loaves  were,  being 
in  size  and  appearance  about  like  a  couple  of  feet  of  scant- 
ling cut  out  of  the  heart  of  an  oak.  So  much  for  living  on 
shipboard.  If  we  did  not  fare  like  princes,  we  had  the 
consolation  of  knowing  that  the  fares  we  paid  were  very 
light.     So  bad  fare  and  light  fares  went  together;  and  that 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  31 

made  it  all  fair.  On  the  fifteenth  day  out,  we  first  saw  the 
coast  of  Iceland.  It  was  an  irregular,  rocky  promontory, 
ending  in  Cape  Reykianess,  the  southwestern  extremity  of 
the  island.  In  two  days  we  saw  and  passed  the  "Meal 
sack," — (Danish  Meel  sakken) — a  singular  rock  island 
about  eight  miles  southwest  of  Cape  Reykianess.  While 
passing  I  took  a  drawing  of  it,  and  certainly  very  much 
like  a  bag  of  meal  it  looks.  It  is  near  200  feet  high,  and 
about  that  in  diameter,  apparently  perpendicular  all  round  ; 
on  the  north  a  little  more  so  !  All  over  its  craggy  sides, 
we  could  see  thousands  of  sea-birds.  As  sunset  approached 
we  saw  great  numbers  of  gannets  flying  towards  it,  going 
to  rest  for  the  night.  This  bird,  known  as  the  solan 
goose,  is  larger  than  a  goose,  and  while  flying,  from  its 
peculiar  color  has  a  most  singular  appearance.  They  are 
white,  except  the  outer  half  of  the  wing,  the  feet,  and  the 
bill,  which  are  jet  black,  and  the  head  a  sort  of  brownish 
yellow.  A  word  more  about  these  birds,  and  some  others, 
hereafter.  Southwest  of  the  Meal  sack  a  few  miles,  is 
another  singular  island  called  "the  Grenadier."  It  is  a 
most  striking  looking  object,  standing  up  out  of  the  ocean 
several  hundred  feet  high,  like  some  tall  giant  or  lofty 
pillar.  What  a  constant  screaming  of  sea  fowl  there  is  at 
all  times  about  these  lonely  islands !  But  where  is  the 
night  in  this  northern  latitude,  in  the  summer  season  ?  Ask 
the  lovely  twilight  that  continues  for  the  two  or  three  hours 
that  the  sun  is  below  the  horizon.  At  midnight  I  read  a 
chapter  in  the  Bible,  in  fine  print,  with  perfect  ease.  At 
a  distance  of  several  miles  I  could  tell  the  dividing  line 


32  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

between  the  rocks  and  the  vegetation  on  the  mountains- 
And  what  a  splendid  panorama  of  mountain  scenery  this 
singular  country  presents  !  unlike  any  thing  that  I  have 
ever  seen  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  Finally  on  the  nine- 
teenth day  of  our  voyage,  our  little  bark  dropped  anchor  in 
the  harbor  of  Reykjavik,  and  our  cannon  announced  to  the 
Icelanders  the  arrival  of  the  "  Post  ship  "  with  letters  and 
friends  from  Denmark.  Then  with  expectation  about  to  be 
gratified,  I  stepped  ashore  on  the  rocky  coast  of  Iceland. 


CHAPTER    II. 

There  is  not  one  atom  of  yon  eartL, 
Bat  once  was  living  man ; 
Nor  the  minutest  drop  of  rain 
That  hangeth  in  its  thinnest  clone?, 
But  flowed  in  human  veins; 
And  from  the  burning  plains 
Where  Lybian  monsters  yell, 
From  the  most  gloomy  glens 
Of  Greenland's  sunless  clime, 
To  where  the  golden  fields 
Of  fertile  England  spread 
Their  harvest  to  the  day ; 
Thou  canst  not  find  one  spot 
"Whereon  no  city  stood. 

Shelley. 

And  this  is  Iceland ! — but  I  see  no  ice.  This  is  the  island 
that  is  shown  to  ns  in  our  geographical  books  and  maps,  as 
a  small  white  spot  on  the  borders  of  the  Arctic  ocean,  and 
described  as  a  cold,  dreary,  and  uninteresting  region,  in- 
habited by  a  few  dwarfish  and  ignorant  people,  who  have 
little  knowledge  of  the  world,  and  of  whom  little  is  known. 
The  names  of  one  or  two  of  its  mountains  are  given,  and 
some  place  is  mentioned  as  its  capital  or  largest  town. 
That  the  country  itself,  or  any  thing  that  is  to  be  found  here, 
is  worth  a  journey  to  see,  or  that  the  history  or  habits  of 
the  people  possesses  any  degree  of  interest,  has  not,  proba- 


34  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

bly,  crossed  the  minds  of  a  thousand  persons.  There  is, 
however,  a  vague  tradition,  and  some  persons  actually  be- 
lieve that  the  Icelanders  or  some  other  people  from  among 
the  northern  nations,  once  sailed  to  the  American  shores, 
prior  to  the  voyages  of  Columbus.  What  may  be  the 
prominent  characteristics  of  this  Ultima  Thule — this  far- 
thest land — what  its  productions  are,  how  extensive  the 
country,  how  numerous  the  population,  and  how  the  people 
live,  there  have  been  few  means  of  knowing.  But  Iceland 
is  not  a  myth,  it  is  actual  and  real,  a  solid  portion  of  the 
earth's  surface.  It  is  not,  either,  what  every  one  supposes, 
nor  what  we  have  reason  to  believe  it  is,  from  its  name,  its 
location,  and  the  meager  descriptions  we  have  had  of  it. 
But  it  has  not  been  thought  advisable  to  leave  this  country 
entirely  alone,  especially  in  an  age  of  travel  and  discovery 
like  the  present.  The  Yankee  is  here  ;  his  feet  tread  its 
heath-clad  hills  and  snow-covered  mountains.  He  has 
boiled  his  dinner  in  the  hot-springs,  cooled  his  punch  in 
snow  a  hundred  years  old,  and  toasted  his  shins  by  a  vol- 
canic fire.  But  a  "chiel"  may  come  and  take  his  notes  : 
every  thing  of  interest,  past  events  and  present  existing 
things,  can  not  be  seen  by  one  pair  of  eyes.  Let  us  draw 
a  little  from  the  manuscripts  of  the  Iceland  historians.  We 
can  find  as  reliable  and  as  permanent  records  of  this  people, 
and  their  early  voyages  and  discoveries,  as  we  have  of  the 
voyages  of  Columbus,  the  warlike  achievements  of  William 
the  Conqueror,  or  the  campaigns  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte. 
These  records  are  the  "Sagas"  or  historical  writings  of 
the  Icelanders,  written  soon  after  the  events  transpired ;  and 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  35 

they  are  now  in  existence  in  the  public  libraries  of  Iceland 
and  Denmark.  Some  of  these  are  in  Latin,  some  in  the  old 
Norse,  and  some  in  Icelandic ;  and  duplicates  of  some  of 
the  more  important  have  been  made  by  publishing  them  in 
facsimile,  just  as  they  stand  on  the  original  parchment. 
The  most  important  of  these  record  with  a  good  deal  of 
minuteness  the  "  Ante-Columbian  discovery  of  America." 
Some  account  of  the  early  history  of  this  singular  people, 
and  particularly  a  notice  of  the  early  voyages  of  the  North- 
men, which  I  gathered  from  historical  records  here  in  Ice- 
land, and  from  the  Icelanders  themselves  while  traveling 
through  the  land,  will  be  of  interest  before  speaking  of  the 
present  appearance  of  the  country. 

Iceland  was  first  discovered  by  Naddod,  a  Norwegian 
pirate,  in  the  year  860,  almost  one  thousand  years  ago.  He 
was  thrown  on  the  coast  in  the  winter,  and  from  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  country,  he  called  it  Snseland,  or  "  Snow- 
land."  Four  years  after,  Gardar  Swarfarson,  a  Swede,  cir- 
cumnavigating it,  found  it  an  island,  and  named  it  "  Gar- 
dar's  Holm"  or  Gardar's  Isle.  His  account  of  the  country 
was  so  favorable,  that  Floki,  another  sea-rover,  went  there 
to  settle ;  but  neglecting  to  cut  hay  in  the  summer,  his  cattle 
perished  in  the  winter.  From  the  vast  accumulations  of  ice 
on  the  west  coast,  ice  that  was  driven  over  from  Greenland, 
he  called  the  country  Iceland,  a  name  it  has  ever  since 
borne.  In  8*74,  the  first  permanent  settlement  was  made  in 
Iceland,  by  Ingolf  a  Norwegian  chieftain.  Greenland  was 
discovered  in  980,  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  after  the 
discovery  of  Iceland.    In  982,  Eric  surnamed  the  Red,  sailed 


Sb  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

to  Greenland,  and,  in  986,  established  a  settlement  there 
which  flourished  for  more  than  four  hundred  years.  To  in- 
duce settlers  to  go  and  reside  in  the  new  country,  the  most 
fabulous  accounts  were  given  of  the  climate  and  productions. 
The  face  of  the  country  was  represented  as  clothe^  in  green, 
and  it  was  even  stated  that  "every  plant  dropped  butter." 
The  name  of  Greenland  thus  given  to  it,  was  as  great  a 
misnomer  as  Iceland  applied  to  the  neighboring  isle.  In  re- 
ality, the  two  countries  should  change  names ;  for  Iceland  is 
a  country  of  green  fields  and  fair  flowers,  while  Greenland  is 
covered  with  almost  perpetual  ice  and  snow.  Eric  the  Red 
had  a  companion  in  his  Greenland  settlement,  whose  name 
was  Heriulf.  Biarni,  the  son  of  Heriulf,  sailed  from  Iceland 
to  join  his  father  in  Greenland,  was  driven  south,  and  landed 
on  the  American  coast — probably  Labrador.  Thus,  the  first 
discovery  of  America  by  Europeans  was  in  the  year  986,  by 
Biarni  Heriulfson,  a  native  of  Norway,  though  he  sailed 
from  Iceland.  He  returned  north,  landed  in  Greenland,  and 
gave  an  account  of  his  discovery.  Subsequent  voyages  to 
the  American  coast,  were  made  by  Leif  and  his  two 
brothers,  sons  of  Eric  the  Red,  who  after  the  style  of 
names  in  Iceland  were  called  Ericsson.  I  am  speaking  on 
good  authority  in  saying  that  a  gifted  Swede,  now  an 
American  citizen,  and  most  prominent  before  the  world,  is 
a  direct  descendant  of  Eric  and  his  son.  I  allude  to  Cap- 
tain Ericsson,  the  inventor  of  the  Caloric  ship,  a  pioneer  in 
American  discovery,  and  a  worthy  descendant  of  the  Eric- 
ssons, pioneers  in  the  discovery  of  America.  Another 
interesting  fact  may  be  noted.  •  Among  the  early  settlers  in 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  37 

America — for  a  settlement  was  formed,  that  continued  several 
years — some  of  the  men  had  their  wives  with  them.  One 
of  these,  the  wife  of  Thorfin,  while  in  America,  gave  birth 
to  a  son,  who  was  named  Snorre.  This  Snorre  Thorfinson, 
was  the  first  native-born  American  of  whom  we  have  ariy 
account,  and  may  be  set  down  as  the  first  Yankee  on 
record.  From  this  Thorfinson  was  descended  Thorwaldsen, 
and  also  Finn  Magnusen  the  historian  and  antiquary,  so 
that  we  can  almost  claim  the  great  sculptor  of  the  North 
and  the  great  historian,  as  Americans.  These  facts  I 
gathered  from  Icelandic  genealogical  tables;  and  all  who 
have  investigated  the  history  of  the  northern  nations,  know 
with  what  accuracy  these  tables  are  compiled.  To  return 
a  little  in  my  narrative.  Leif  Ericsson  having  purchased 
the  ship  of  Biarni  Heriulfson,  sailed  from  Greenland  in  the 
year  1000.  The  first  land  he  made  he  called  Helluland,  or 
"  land  of  broad  flat  stones."  This  was  doubtless  the  coast 
of  Newfoundland.  The  next  coast  he  saw  was  covered 
with  forest,  and  consequently  he  named  it  Markland,  or 
"  Woodland."  This  was  probably  Nova  Scotia.  The  next 
land  he  discovered,  still  farther  south,  produced  vines  and 
grapes,  and  this  he  named- "  Vinland,"  a  name  the  Ice- 
landers ever  afterwards  used  in  speaking  of  the  American 
Continent.  We  have  the  best  of  proof  in  their  account  of 
the  climate  and  productions,  in  the  length  of  the  days,  as 
well  as  in  their  maps  and  drawings,  that  their  settlement 
was  on  some  part  of  our  New-England  coast,  probably 
Massachusetts  or  Rhode  Island.  In  subsequent  voyages, 
these  adventurous  navigators  sailed  farther  south ;  and  it  is 


38  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

supposed  from  the  account  they  gave,  that  they  proceeded 
as  far  as  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  Timber,  furs  and 
grapes,  were  the  most  valuable  articles  the  country  pro- 
duced ;  and  for  these,  several  voyages  were  made  to  Vinland, 
from  Greenland,  houses  were  built,  and  settlers  resided  in 
the  country  for  at  least  three  years;  from  1011  to  1014. 
In  their  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  the  Iceland  and 
Greenland  adventurers  carried  on  their  business  about  after 
the  same  political  code  that  Raleigh,  John  Smith,  and 
others,  did  afterwards.  They  first  traded  with  the  Indians, 
then  fought  them.  They  sold  them  red  cloth  in  strips  the 
width  of  a  finger's  length,  and  in  return,  received  their  furs 
and  skins.  As  their  cloth  grew  scarce,  they  cut  the  strips 
narrower ;  and  finding  they  could  buy  just  as  many  skins 
for  a  strip  an  inch  wide,  as  if  it  was  four  inches,  they  cut  it 
narrower  and  narrower,  till  they  got  it  down  to  a  finger's 
breadth.  The  Indians  bound  it  about  their  heads,  and  were 
greatly  delighted  with  its  ornamental  appearance.  Finally 
the  red  cloth  grew  scarce,  and  then  the  Indians  gave  their 
furs  for  soup  and  other  eatables;  and  thus, — to  use  the 
words  of  an  Iceland  historian,  they  "carried  off  their  bar- 
gains in  their  bellies."  In  the  first  skirmish  that  occurred 
in  the  new  settlement,  the  Northmen  seemed  to  get  the 
worst  of  it,  and  fled  towards  their  boats,  when  Freydisa, 
daughter  of  Eric  the  Red,  and  wife  of  Thorvard,  caught  up 
a  spear  and  turned  on  the  Indians,  reproaching  her  country- 
men for  their  cowardice.  By  her  heroic  example,  the 
Indians  were  defeated,  so  we  find  that  the  successful  issue  of 
the  first  battle  between  Europeans  and  North  American 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  39 

Indians,  was  owing  to  the  courage  of  a  woman.  Voyages 
continued  to  be  made  to  America,  from  both  Greenland  and 
Iceland,  to  as  late  a  period  as  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth 
century.  The  last  trip  of  which  we  have  any  record,  is  that 
of  a  vessel  sent  from  Greenland  to  Markland  (Nova  Scotia) 
for  timber  and  other  articles.  While  returning,  it  encount- 
ered heavy  storms,  and  was  driven  into  port  in  the  west  of 
Iceland.  The  old  Greenland  settlements  continued  for  a 
long  period,  the  latest  account  we  possess,  coming  down  to 
the  year  1484.  When  they  perished,  or  from  what  cause, 
is  unknown.  Remains  of  churches  and  other  buildings  are 
found  there  to  this  day.  We  now  come  to  one  of  the 
most  significant  facts  connected  with  the  discovery  of  the 
American  continent.  It  is  doubly  proved  in  the  records  of 
that  period,  that  Columbus  sailed  to  Iceland,  in  the 
year  1477.  An  account  of  this  is  given  by  the  Iceland 
historians,  and  published  in  the  "  Antiquitates  Americanse." 
It  is  also  recorded  by  Columbus  himself,  in  a  work  of  his 
"  on  the  five  habitable  zones  of  the  earth."  In  this  book, 
which  is  now  extremely  rare,  he  says,  in  the  month  of 
February,  1477,  he  visited  Iceland,  "where  the  sea  was  not 
at  that  time  covered  with  ice,  and  which  had  been  resorted 
to  by  many  traders  from  Bristol."  It  will  be  remembered 
that  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot  were  both  from  Bristol. 
Humboldt,  in  his  "  Cosmos,"  speaks  of  this  voyage  of 
Columbus  to  Iceland,  and  of  the  record  of  it  made  by  the 
great  navigator  himself  in  his  work  on  the  zones.  Hum- 
boldt also  speaks  at  considerable  length  of  the  early  voy- 
ages of  the  Icelanders  and  Greenlanders  to  America ;  and  of 


40  RAMBLES    IN  -ICELAND. 

all  these  events  he  speaks  as  he  does  of  other  well-estab- 
lished historical  facts.  So  let  us  hear  no  more  of  the 
"vague  tradition,"  the  mere  "thought"  or  "belief,"  that 
America  was  known  to  the  early  navigators  of  the  north. 
Let  it  be  spoken  of  as  one  of  the  well-known,  and  clearly- 
authenticated  historical  facts  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
It  takes  nothing  from  the  merits  and  reputation  of  Colum- 
bus. And  what  if  it  did  ?  The  reader  of  history  is  a 
seeker  after  truth,  and  most  certainly  the  writer  of  history 
should  be.  During  the  visit  of  Columbus  to  Iceland,  he 
might  have  conversed  in  Latin  with  the  bishop  of  Skalholt, 
or  other  learned  Icelanders,  on  the  subject  of  the  early 
voyages  of  the  Northmen  to  America,  but  this  does  not 
seem  at  all  probable.  Had  this  been  the  case,  some  record 
or  mention  of  it  would  probably  have  been  made,  either  in 
the  writings  of  Columbus  or  of  cotemporary  historians. 
Then,  too,  in  his  early  struggles  to  obtain  material  aid  to 
prosecute  his  geographical  researches,  he  omitted  no  facts 
or  arguments  that  would  be  likely  to  convince  the  kings 
and  queens  whom  he  applied  to,  that  his  theory  of  the 
earth  was  correct,  and  that  land  would  be  found  by  sailing 
to  the  west.  His  first  voyage,  too,  was  for  the  purpose  of 
finding  China  or  the  Indies,  and  not  in  the  direction  of  the 
Vinland  of  the  Northmen.  When  he  discovered  land,  he 
believed  it  to  be  some  part  of  the  East  Indies ;  and,  to  the 
day  of  his  death,  Columbus  never  knew  that  he  was  the 
discoverer  of  a  new  continent.  One  of  the  oldest  of  the 
sagas  or  historical  documents  from  which  the  facts  were 
gathered  respecting  the  early  discovery  and  settlement  of 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  41 

America,  was  the  saga  of  Eric  the  Red.  The  statements  in 
this  and  other  historical  papers,  are  corroborated  in  old 
Iceland  geographies,  and  also  by  some  European  writers, 
particularly  by  Adam  of  Bremen,  a  theological  writer, 
nephew  of  Canute,  King  of  England.  He  says  that  while 
he  was  in  the  north,  propagating  Christianity,  Swein  Eth- 
rithson,  King  of  Denmark,  gave  him  an  account  of  these 
discoveries.     This  was  about  the  year  1070. 

If  we  trace  the  history  of  Iceland  from  its  first  settle- 
ment to  the  present  time,  we  shall  find  that  the  intelligence, 
activity,  prosperity,  and  happiness  of  the  people,  and  the 
rise  and  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  among  them,  has 
been  exactly  proportioned  to  the  liberal  and  republican 
spirit  of  their  government.  For  fifty-four  years — from  the 
first  settlement  of  Iceland,  in  874,  to  the  year  928 — it  was 
a  Norwegian  colony,  governed  by  chiefs.  As  the  popula- 
tion increased,  and  the  infant  settlement  waxed  strong,  diffi- 
culties arose  between  the  rulers  and  the  ruled ;  and  finally 
the  people  threw  off  their  allegiance,  framed  a  constitution, 
and  set  up  a  republican  government,  which  continued  for 
333  years.  The  close  of  this  era  was  in  the  year  1261. 
All  the  native  historians  agree  in  calling  this  the  Golden 
Age  of  Iceland.  During  this  period  Greenland  was  dis- 
covered and  settled,  the  continent  of  America  was  dis- 
covered, and  an  enterprising,  daring,  and  successful  series 
of  voyages  was  carried  on,  that  eclipsed  the  efforts  of  all 
previous  navigators.  Christianity  was  established  and  bish- 
ops appointed  both  in  Iceland  and  Greenland,  poetry  and 
history  were  cultivated,  and  a  degree  of  intellectual  activity 


42  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

was  shown,  beyond  that  of  any  country  in  the  north  of  Eu- 
rope.    Thrown  on  their  own  resources,  in  a  cold  and  dreary 
climate,  the  same  causes  operated  in  raising  up  a  vigorous, 
moral,  and  intellectual  people,  that  was  shown  in  the  his- 
tory of  our   own   Pilgrim   Fathers.     It   was   during   this 
period  that  the  most  valuable  and  important  sagas  were 
prepared  and   written;   papers   that  show   the   successful 
enterprise   of  the   northern   voyagers.     "The  wonderfully 
organized  free  state  of  Iceland  maintained  its  independence 
for  three  centuries  and  a  half,  until  civil  freedom  was  anni- 
hilated, and  the  country  became  subject  to  Hako  VI.  King 
of  Norway.     The  flower  of  Icelandic  literature,  its  historical 
records,  and  the  collection  of  the  sagas  and  eddas,  apper- 
tain to  the   twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries."  *     During 
these   two   centuries,   their   poets — skalds   or    minstrels — 
visited  nearly  every  court  in  Europe,  and  composed  and 
sung  their  lyrical  productions.      They  were  attached  to  the 
suites  of  kings  and  princes,  attended  warriors  to  the  battle 
field,  and  celebrated  the  exploits  of  their  employers   in 
undying  verse.      Instances  are  recorded,  where  a  king  has 
died,  that  his  praises  were  sung  so  ably  by  his  minstrel 
that  he  was  installed  in  his  place,  and  filled  the  vacant 
throne.      In   the   Iceland   republic   the   chief  officer  was 
called  the  "  Laugman,"  or  administrator  of  the  laws.      He 
was  elected  by  universal  suffrage.     Their  national  assembly 
or  congress  was  known  as  the  "Althing,"  and  had  both 
legislative   and    judiciary   powers.       The   members   were 

*  Humboldt's  Cosmos. 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND.  43 

elected  by  ballot,  and  when  they  met  formed  but  one  body, 
the  president,  or  laugman,  presiding  over  their  delibera- 
tions. They  assembled  in  the  open  air  at  a  place  called 
Thingvalla,  and  large  numbers  of  the  people  gathered 
round  them  as  spectators.  I  walked  over  the  ground, 
where  this  primitive  congress  had  met  for  nearly  a  thou- 
sand years.  It  is  a  raised  circle  of  earth,  shaped  like  an 
amphitheater,  and  now  overgrown  with  grass.  On  one 
side  was  a  mound,  a  little  higher  than  the  rest,  where  the 
president  sat.  Though  the  powers  of  the  Althing  were 
greatly  abridged  at  the  fall  of  the  republic,  yet  they  have 
continued  to  meet  in  this  house,  without  a  roof,  until  the 
year  1800.  At  that  time  the  Althing  was  removed  to 
Reykjavik,  and  has  ever  since  met  in  a  building.  Their  ses- 
sions are  annual,  and  always  held  in  the  summer.  At  the 
end  of  each  session,  a  journal  of  their  proceedings  and  re- 
ports of  the  debates  are  published  in  a  volume.  The  Ice- 
landers have  ever  regretted,  and  with  good  reason,  the 
removal  of  their  congressional  meetings  from  the  primitive 
location  of  Thingvalla,  to  the  town  of  Reykjavik,  where 
they  are  surrounded  by  dissipation  and  the  corrupting 
influence  of  foreign  merchants.  The  scene  at  Thingvalla, 
at  the  time  of  my  visit,  July,  1852,  was  solitary,  quiet,  and 
peaceful.  Oxen,  sheep,  and  horses,  were  grazing  on  every 
side  ;  and  the  mower  was  whetting  his  scythe  and  cutting 
the  grass  where  legislators  and  grave  judges  had  assembled 
and  made  laws  for  the  people.  The  scenery  is  grand  and 
picturesque.  It  is  directly  before  the  Thingvalla  lake,  the 
largest  in  Iceland,  and  surrounded,  on  the  north  and  east, 


44  RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND. 

by  lofty  mountains.  Thingvalla  has  thus  been  the  legisla- 
tive capital  of  Iceland,  until  its  final  removal  to  Reykjavik, 
in  the  year  1800  ;  though  Skalholt — once  the  location  of 
a  church  and  a  bishop's  see,  though  now  nothing  but  a 
farm — is  erroneously  given  as  the  capital,  in  the  most  of 
our  books  of  geography. 

Foes  within,  not  enemies  without,  overthrew  the  Ice- 
land republic.  A  corrupt  body  of  chiefs  and  rulers  sold 
it  to  Norway,  in  the  year  1261 ;  and,  one  hundred  and 
nineteen  years  afterwards — in  1380 — it  was,  with  that 
power,  transferred  to  Denmark  ;  and  under  the  government 
of  that  country  it  has  ever  since  remained.  Until  about 
the  year  1490,  their  maritime  trade  was  open  to  all  nations, 
and  vessels  of  every  flag  were  allowed  to  take  cargoes  to 
Iceland.  After  that,  for  three  hundred  years,  the  commerce 
of  the  country  was  either  held  by  the  Danish  crown  or 
farmed  out  to  merchants  and  traders,  and  often  to  foreign 
companies.  The  only  rule  of  action  in  letting  out  the  trade 
of  the  country  seemed  to  be,  to  dispose  of  it  to  the  highest 
bidder.  The  most  of  these  companies  oppressed  and  starved 
the  poor  Icelanders  into  compliance  with  the  most  rigorous 
and  exacting  measures.  As  the  country  produced  neither 
grain,  fruit,  coal,  nor  wood,  they  were  dependent  on  com- 
merce with  foreign  countries  for  all  the  luxuries  and  many 
of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Trade  being  taken  entirely  out 
of  the  hands  of  the  Icelanders,  they  necessarily  grew  dis- 
spirited  ;  their  ambition  was  crushed,  and,  though  ardently 
attached  to  their  country,  they  could  but  mourn  over  their 
unhappy  lot*    Since  1788,  commercial  affairs  have  been  on 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  45 

but  little  better  footing,  the  trade  being  entirely  in  the 
hands  of  the  Danish  merchants,  but  not  farmed  out  to  a 
company.  The  trade,  foreign  and  domestic,  is  open  to  both 
Danes  and  Icelanders,  but  to  no  others.  No  foreign  vessels 
are  allowed  to  visit  Iceland  for  purposes  of  traffic,  unless 
they  carry  coal  or  timber,  or  go  with  cash  to  buy  the  pro- 
ducts of  the  country.  As  there  are  no  merchants  but 
Danes  in  all  the  commercial  towns,  foreign  traders  would 
never  find  purchasers  for  their  cargoes  of  timber  or  coal 
were  they  to  go  there. 

At  this  time  the  legislative  powers  of  Iceland  are  vested 
in  the  Althing,  and  presided  over  by  the  governor,  who  is 
called  the  Stifftamptman.  This  body  is  composed  of  twen- 
ty-six members,  one  from  each  county  or  syssel — twenty  in 
number,  elected  by  ballot — and  six  appointed  by  the  king. 
All  the  members  of  the  Althing  must  be  residents  of  the 
country,  but  they  may  be  either  Danes  or  Icelanders. 
When  an  act  is  passed  by  a  majority,  it  must  be  sent  to 
Copenhagen  for  the  approval  of  the  king,  and  if  not  signed 
by  him  does  not  become  a  law.  The  Icelanders  very  natu- 
rally desire  "free  trade,"  and  wish  to  have  their  ports 
thrown  open  to  the  competition  of  the  world;  but  the 
Danish  merchants  and  ship-owners  in  Iceland  and  Den- 
mark, enjoying  as  they  now  do,  a  monopoly  of  the  com- 
merce, are  all  opposed  to  this.  In  the  session  of  1851,  the 
king's  councillors — the  six  he  appointed — prepared  a  bill, 
and  introduced  it,  allowing  foreign  vessels  to  trade  here, 
but  with  the  proviso  that  they  should  pay  a  tonnage  duty 
of  about  one  rix-dollar  per  ton.     The  trade  of  Iceland  being 


46  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

neither  extensive  nor  lucrative,  this  would  amount  to  just 
about  a  complete  prohibition.  The  other  members  nearly 
all  opposed  the  bill,  saying, "  Give  us  free  trade  or  nothing ;" 
and  it  never  passed  the  house.  The  governor  was  incensed 
to  see  the  will  of  his  royal  master  thwarted ;  and  like  some 
governors  in  our  old  colonial  times,  he  dissolved  the  Al- 
thing, and  they  broke  up  in  a  grand  row.  It  was  adjourned 
over  for  two  years,  to  meet  again  in  1853.  The  friends  of 
free  and  unrestricted  trade,  in  Iceland,  are  in  hopes  of  hav- 
ing a  law  passed  before  many  years,  opening  their  ports  to 
the  ships  of  all  nations  alike.  The  "  StifFtamptman "  or 
governor  is  appointed  by  the  king,  and  holds  his  office  du- 
ring the  pleasure  of  His  Majesty.  He  is  usually  a  Danish 
nobleman,  and  receives  a  salary  of  3,000  rix-dollars  a  year, 
which  is  paid  by  the  Danish  government.  There  are  three 
amptmen  or  deputy  governors,  residing  in  the  northern, 
southern,  and  eastern  quarters  of  the  island.  The  StifFt- 
amptman, residing  in  the  west,  renders  a  fourth  amptman 
unnecessary.  The  governor  presides  at  all  sessions  of  the 
Althing,  manages  all  state  affairs,  presides  over  the  post- 
office  department,  and  carrying  the  mails,  and  is  in  every 
respect  the  head  of  the  state,  without  a  cabinet  or  advisers. 
There  is  a  treasurer — or  landfoged,  as  he  is  termed — who 
is  also  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  receives  a  salary  of 
2,000  rix-dollars  a  year.  The  public  funds  are  kept  in  an 
iron  chest  in  the  governor's  house,  under  the  protection  of 
a  double  lock  and  two  keys,  one  of  which  is  kept  by  the 
governor  and  the  other  by  the  treasurer.  Both  of  these 
are  necessary  to  open  the  chest.     The  principal  officer  in 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  47 

each  county,  or  syssel,  is  called  the  sysselman,  and  is  elected 
by  the  people.  The  sysselman  is  both  sheriff  and  magis- 
trate ;  and  all  suits  at  law  in  his  syssel  are  tried  before  him, 
an  appeal  being  allowed  to  the  Supreme  Court  at  Reykjavik. 
The  Supreme  Court  is  presided  over  by  the  chief  justice, 
who  is  appointed  by  the  crown,  and  holds  his  office  perma- 
nently. The  sysselmen,  in  their  respective  syssels,  call  all  pub- 
lic meetings,  convene  elections,  and  preserve  order.  In  the 
useful  arts,  so  far  as  their  productions  and  circumstances 
will  allow,  and  in  moral  and  religious  improvement,  Iceland 
has  kept  pace  with  the  world.  Printing  was  introduced  in 
the  year  1530  ;  and  the  Reformation,  which  had  been  going 
on  in  Europe  for  some  time,  extended  to  Iceland  in  1551. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  at  this  time,  the  established 
religion  of  the  country,  had  become  so  corrupt,  that  the 
last  Catholic  bishop  and  his  two  illegitimate  sons  were  be- 
headed for  murder  and  other  crimes.  Since  then  to  the 
present  day,  the  religion  of  the  country  has  been  Lutheran, 
and  there  is  said  to  be  not  one  person  residing  in  Iceland 
except  Protestants.  Such  is  a  slight  sketch  of  the  set- 
tlement  and   progress   of    this   isolated  country. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Happy  the  nations  of  the  moral  North, 
Where  all  is  virtue.         *        *        * 
Honest  men  from  Iceland  to  Barbadoes. 
******        Man 
In  islands  is,  it  seems,  downright  and  thorough, 
More  than  on  continents. 

Byron. 

The  geographical  features  of  Iceland,  and  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  people,  are  no  less  interesting  than  the 
history  of  the  nation.  Iceland  lies  just  south  of  the  polar 
circle,  between  sixty-three  and  a  half  and  sixty-six  and  a  half 
north  latitude,  and  between  thirteen  and  twenty-four  de- 
grees west  longitude  from  Greenwich.  Its  length  from  east 
to  west,  is  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  and 
its  average  width  one  hundred  and  fifty.  In  extent  of  sur- 
face it  is  nearly  as  large  as  the  State  of  New-York,  contain- 
ing not  far  from  forty  thousand  square  miles.  It  is  three 
hundred  miles  east  of  the  coast  of  Greenland,  a  little  over 
five  hundred  from  the  north  of  Scotland,  nearly  one  thou- 
sand from  Liverpool,  thirteen  hundred  from  Copenhagen, 
and  about  three  thousand  miles  from  Boston.  The  coast 
is  deeply  indented  with  bays,  its  valleys  are  drained  by  large 
rivers,  and  every  part  abounds  more  or  less  with  lofty  moun- 
tains.     Though  volcanic  regions   have  many  features  in 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  49 

common,  Iceland  differs  greatly  from  every  country  in  the 
known  world.  It  presents  a  greater  array  of  remarkable  natu- 
ral phenomena  than  can  be  found  throughout  the  whole  ex- 
tent of  Europe  and  America.  To  the  naturalist  and  the  man 
of  science,  to  the  geologist,  the  botanist,  and  the  ornithologist, 
it  is  probably  less  known  than  any  equal  tract  of  accessible 
country  in  the  world.  The  burning  chimnies  of  iEtna,  Ve- 
suvius, and  Stromboli,  have  given  inspiration  to  Horace  and 
Virgil,  and  been  minutely  described  by  the  pens  of  Strabo, 
Dioclorus  Siculus,  and  Pliny.  Not  so  the  region  of  Hekla 
and  Skaptar  Jokull.  In  the  Mediterranean  states,  art  and 
nature  can  both  be  studied ;  in  Iceland,  nature  alone,  but 
nature  in  her  wildest  moods.  But  how  will  those  moun- 
tains in  the  south  compare  with  these  in  the  north  ?     All 

4 

the  volcanoes  in  the  Mediterranean  would  scarcely  extend 
over  more  ground  than  a  single  county  in  the  State  of  New 
York,  while  Iceland  is  one  entire  volcanic  creation  as  large 
as  the  State  itself.  Though  not  active  all  "at  once,  yet 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land  may  be 
found  smoking  mountains,  burning  sulphur  mines,  hot 
springs  that  will  boil  an  egg^  and  jets  of  blowing  steam 
that  keep  up  a  roar  like  the  whistle  of  a  gigantic  steam  en- 
gine. The  volcanic  region  of  Iceland  may  be  set  down  as 
covering  an  area  of  sixty  thousand  square  miles ;  for  volca- 
noes have  repeatedly  risen  up  from  the  sea  near  the  coast, 
and  sometimes  as  far  as  seventy  miles  from  land.  Though 
^Etna  is  higher  than  any  mountain  in  Iceland,  and  of  such 
enormous  bulk  that  it  is  computed  to  be  180  miles  in  cir- 
cumference ;  yet  if  Skaptar  Jokull  were  hollowed  out, 
3* 


50  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

iEtna  and  Vesuvius  both  could  be  put  into  the  cavity  and 
not  fill  it ! 

Iceland,  too,  is  classic  ground.  Not,  however,  in  the 
same  sense  that  Italy,  Sicily,  and  Greece,  are.  The  hun- 
dred different  kinds  of  verse  now  existing  in  many  volumes 
of  Iceland  poetry,  the  sagas,  and  other  literary  productions 
of  the  Icelanders,  have  not  been  read  and  re-read,  translated 
and  re-translated,  like  the  works  of  Herodotus,  Xenophon, 
Tacitus,  and  Cicero,  and  for  very  good  reasons.  The  coun- 
try is  not  one  of  such  antiquity ;  it  is  not  a  country  re- 
nowned for  arts  and  arms,  and  overflowing  with  a  numerous 
population.  As  a  state,  it  is  nearly  destitute  of  works  of 
art,  and  its  scanty  population  can  only  procure  the  bare 
necessaries  of  life.  Scarcely  a  page  of  Icelandic  literature 
ever  put  on  an  English  dress  and  found  its  way  among  tne 
Anglo-Saxons,  until  the  pen  that  gave,  us  "Waverley  and 
Rob  Roy,  furnished  us  with  a  translation  of  some  of  the 
more  important  of  the  Iceland  sagas.  The  author  of  the 
"  Psalm  of  Life  "  and  "  Hyperion  "  has  given  us  some  ele- 
gant translations  of  Iceland  poetry. 

On  stepping  ashore  in  Iceland,  the  total  absence  of  trees 
and  forests,  and  the  astonishing  purity  of  the  atmosphere, 
strike  the  spectator  as  among  the  more  remarkable  charac- 
teristics of  the  country.  The  fields  are  beautifully  green  : 
the  mountains,  clothed  in  purple  heath,  appear  so  near  that 
you  are  almost  tempted  to  reach  forth  your  hands  to  touch 
their  sides.  At  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  distance,  they  ap- 
pear but  three  or  four  ;  and  at  seventy  or  eighty  miles,  they 
seem  within  ten  or  fifteen.     Such  is  the  effect  of  the  magical 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  51 

purity  of  the  atmosphere.  In  other  countries  you  go  and 
visit  cities  and  ruins ;  here  you  see  nature  in  her  most  fan- 
tastic forms.  In  other  states  you  pay  a  shilling,  a  franc,  or 
a  piastre,  for  a  warm  bath  in  a  vat  of  marble ;  here  you 
bathe  in  a  spring  of  any  desired  temperature,  or  plunge  into 
a  cool  lake,  and  swim  to  the  region  of  a  hot  spring  in  the 
bottom,  guided  by  the  steam  on  the  surface.  In  other 
lands  you  step  into  marble  palaces  that  are  lined  with  gold 
and  precious  stones,  and  find  hereditary  legislators  making 
laws  to  keep  the  people  in  subjection ;  here  you  see  a  grass- 
grown  amphitheater  where  an  elective  congress  met  and 
legislated  in  the  open  air  for  nearly  a  thousand  years.  In 
other  and  more  favored  climes,  you  find  comfortable  houses, 
and  "  fruits  of  fragrance  blush  on  every  tree ;"  here,  not  a 
fruit,  save  one  small  and  tasteless  berry,  and  not  a  single  va- 
riety of  grain,  will  ripen,  and  their  houses  are  mere  huts  of 
lava  and  turf,  looking  as  green  as  the  meadows  and  pastures. 
In  other  lands,  coal  and  wood  fires  enliven  every  hearth, 
and  mines  of  iron,  lead,  copper,  silver,  and  gold,  reward  the 
labor  of  the  delver ;  but  here,  not  a  particle  of  coal,  not  one 
single  mineral  of  value,  and  not  one  stick  of  wood  larger 
than  a  walking-cane  can  be  found.  Many  of  the  mountains 
are  clad  in  eternal  snows,  and  some  pour  out  rivers  of  fire 
several  times  every  century.  But,  though  sterile  the  soil 
and  scanty  the  productions,  our  knowledge  of  the  country 
must  be  limited  if  we  consider  it  barren  of  historical  facts  and 
literary  reminiscences.  A  country  like  this,  nearly  as  large 
as  England,  must  possess  few  agricultural  and  commercial  re- 
sources, to  have  at  this  time,  nearly  one  thousand  years  after 


52  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

its  first  settlement,  a  population  of  only  sixty  thousand  souls. 
Yet  the  Icelanders,  while  laboring  under  great  disadvan- 
tages, are  more  contented,  moral,  and  religious,  possess 
greater  attachment  to  country,  are  less  given  to  crime  and 
altercation,  and  show  greater  hospitality  and  kindness  to 
strangers,  than  any  other  people  the  sun  shines  upon.  Their 
contentment  and  immunity  from  crime  and  offense,  do  not 
arise  from  sluggishness  and  indolence  of  character ;  nor  are 
they  noted  alone  for  their  negative  virtues.  They  possess  a 
greater  spirit  of  historical  research  and  literary  inquiry, 
have  more  scholars,  poets,  and  learned  men,  than  can  be 
found  among  an  equal  population  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 
Some  of  their  linguists  speak  and  write  a  greater  number  of 
languages  than  those  that  I  have  ever  met  in  any  other 
country.  Iceland  has  given  birth  to  a  Thorwaldsen,  a  sculp- 
tor whose  name  will  descend  to  the  latest  posterity.  His 
parents  were  Icelanders,  but  he  was  a  child  of  the  sea,  born 
on  the  ocean,  between  Iceland  and  Denmark.  Among  their 
poets  and  historians  will  be  found  the  names  of  Snorro  Stur- 
leson,  Ssemund,  sumamed  Frode,  or  "  the  learned,"  Jon 
Thorlaksen,  Finn  Magnusen,  Stephensen,  Egilson,  Hallgrim- 
son,  Thorarensen,  Grondal,  Sigurder  Peterssen ;  and  these, 
with  many  others,  will  adorn  the  pages  of  Icelandic  litera- 
ture as  long  as  the  snow  covers  their  mountains,  and  the 
heather  blooms  in  their  valleys.  Their  navigators  and  mer- 
chants discovered  and  settled  America  long  before  Genoa 
gave  birth  to  a  Columbus,  and  while  Europe  was  yet  im- 
mured in  the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages.  The  works  of 
their  poets  and  literary  men  have  been  translated  into  nearly 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  53 

every  language  in  Europe ;  and  they  in  their  turn  have  trans- 
lated into  their  own  beautiful  language  more  or  less  of  the 
writings  of  Milton,  Dryden,  Pope,  Young,  Byron,  Burns, 
Klopstock,  Martin  Luther,  Lamartine,  Benjamin  Franklin, 
Washington  Irving,  and  many  others.  In  the  interior  of 
the  country  a  native  clergyman  presented  me  a  volume — 
an  Iceland  annual,  the  "  Northurfari,"  for  1848-9 — that 
contains,  among  many  original  articles,  the  "  Story  of  the 
Whistle,"  by  Dr.  Franklin ;  a  chapter  from  Irving's  "  Life  of 
Columbus ;"  translations  from  Dryden ;  Byron's  "  Ode  on 
Waterloo ;"  Burns'  "  Bruce's  Address ;"  Kossuth's  Prayer  on 
the  defeat  of  his  army  in  Hungary ;  part  of  one  of  Presi- 
dent Taylor's  Messages  to  Congress ;  and  extracts  from  the 
New  York  Herald,  the  London  Times,  and  other  publica- 
tions. With  scarcely  a  hd{?e  of  fame,  the  intellectual  labors 
of  the  Icelanders  have  been  prosecuted  from  an  ardent  thirst 
of  literary  pursuits.  Personal  emolument,  or  the  applause 
of  the  world,  could  scarcely  have  had  a  place  among  their 
incentives  to  exertion.  As  an  example  we  need  only  notice 
the  labors  of  Jon  Thorlakson.  This  literary  neophyte,  im- 
mured in  a  mud  hut  in  the  north  of  Iceland,  subsisting  on 
his  scanty  salary  as  a  clergyman,  which  amounted  to  less 
than  thirty  dollars  a  year,  together  with  his  own  labors  as  a 
farmer,  yet  found  time  during  the  long  evenings  of  an  Ice- 
land winter,  to  translate  into  Icelandic  verse,  the  whole 
of  Milton's  "Paradise  Lost,"  Pope's  "Essay  on  Man,"  and 
Klopstock's  "  Messiah,"  besides  writing  several  volumes  of 
original  poetry.  Throughout  their  literary  and  political 
writings  can  be  seen  that  spirit  of  republicanism,  and  that 


54  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

ardent  love  of  political  liberty,  which  always  characterizes 
a  thinking  and  intellectual  people.  Interspersed  with  their 
own  sentiments  expressed  in  their  own  tongue,  will  be  seen 
quotations  from  other  writers,  and  in  other  languages. 
With  Dryden  they  say, 

"The  love  of  liberty  with  life  is  given, 
And  life  itself  the  inferior  gift  of  heaven." 

From  Byron  they  quote, 

"  Better  to  sink  beneath  the  shock, 
Than  moulder  piecemeal  on  the  rock." 

And  with  the  noble  poet,  again,  they  express  their 

" plain,  sworn,  downright  detestation 

Of  every  despotism  in  ey>ry  nation." 

Such  is  the  literary  and  republican  spirit  of  this  toiling  and 
intellectual  people. 

The  Icelanders  live  principally  by  farming  and  fishing. 
They  take  cod  and  haddock,  from  five  to  forty  miles  out  to 
sea.  Whales  often  visit  their  harbors  and  bays,  and  are 
surrounded  by  boats  and  captured.  Their  season  for  sea- 
fishing  is  from  the  first  of  February  to  the  middle  of  May. 
In  the  summer  they  catch  large  quantities  of  trout  and  sal- 
mon in  their  streams  and  lakes.  They  have  no  agricultural 
productions  of  much  value,  except  grass.  Grain  is  not  cul- 
tivated, and  their  gardens  are  very  small,  only  producing  a 
few  roots  and  vegetables.  The  climate  of  the  country  is 
not  what  we  would  suppose  from  its  location.  Columbus, 
who  was  there  in  February,  tells  us  he  found  no  ice  on  the 


RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND.  55 

sea.  It  is  not  as  cold  in  winter  as  in  the  northern  States  of 
America,  the  thermometer  seldom  showing  a  greater  degree 
of  severity  than  from  twelve  to  eighteen  above  zero.  In 
summer,  from  June  to  September,  it  is  delightfully  mild  and 
pleasant,  neither  cold  nor  hot.  The  cold  season  does  not 
usually  commence  until  November  or  December ;  and  some- 
times during  the  entire  winter  there  is  but  little  snow,  and 
not  frost  enough  to  bridge  their  lakes  and  streams  with  ice. 
In  summer,  fires  are  not  needed,  and  the  climate  during 
this  season  is  more  agreeable  than  that  of  Great  Britain  or 
the  United  States,  having  neither  the  chilly  dampness  of 
the  one,  nor  the  fierce  heat  of  the  other.  Thunder-storms 
in  Iceland  occur  in  the  winter,  but  not  in  the  summer. 

Their  domestic  animals  are  sheep,  cattle,  horses,  and 
dogs.  They  rarely  keep  domestic  fowls,  but  from  the  nests 
of  the  wild  eider-duck'they  obtain  large  quantities  of  eggs, 
as  well  as  down.  Reindeer  run  wild  in  the  interior,  but  are 
not  domesticated.  Blue  and  white  foxes  are  common ;  and 
these,  with  eagles,  hawks,  and  ravens,  destroy  many  of  their 
sheep  and  lambs.  White  bears  are  not  found  in  the  country, 
except  as  an  "imported"  article,  when  they  float  over  from 
Greenland  on  the  drift  ice.  The  domestic  animals  in  Ice- 
land are  estimated  in  the  following  numbers  : — 500,000 
sheep,  60,000  horses,  and  40,000  cattle.  All  their  animals 
are  of  rather  small  size,  as  compared  to  those  in  more  tem- 
perate regions.  Their  horses  are  a  size  larger  than  the  po- 
nies of  Shetland,  and  average  from  twelve  to  thirteen  hands 
high.  Their  hay  is  a  short  growth,  but  a  very  sweet,  excel- 
lent quality.   The  Icelanders  speak  of  their  "  forests," — mere 


56  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

bunches  of  shrubbery  from  two  to  six  feet  high.  These  are 
principally  birch  and  willow.  The  beautiful  heath,  so  com- 
mon  in  Scotland  and  the  north  of  Europe,  is  found  through- 
out Iceland.  Their  game  birds  are  the  ptarmigan,  the 
curlew,  the  plover,  and  the  tern.  Nearly  every  variety  of  wa- 
ter-fowl common  to  Great  Britain  or  America,  abounds  in  the 
bays,  islands,  and  shores  of  Iceland,  and  in  the  greatest  num- 
bers. The  Icelanders  export  wool,  about  1,000,000  lbs.  an- 
nually, and  from  two  to  three  hundred  thousand  pairs  each  of 
woolen  stockings  and  mittens.  Besides  these  articles,  they 
sell  dried  and  salted  codfish,  smoked  salmon,  fish  and  seal 
oil,  whale  blubber,  seal  and  fox  skins,  feathers,  eider-down, 
beef  and  mutton,  hides,  tallow,  and  sulphur.  They  import 
their  principal  luxuries — flour,  rye  and  barley  meal,  beans, 
potatoes,  wine,  brandy,  rum,  ale  and  beer,  tobacco,  coffee, 
sugar,  tea,  salt,  timber,  coal,  iron,  cutlery,  fish-hooks  and 
lines,  cotton  and  silk  goods,  leather,  crockery,  and  furniture. 
From  thirty  to  forty  vessels  sail  from  Denmark  to  Iceland 
every  year.  Reykjavik,  the  capital,  on  the  west  coast,  is  the 
largest  town  in  the  island — a  place  of  about  1,200  people. 
Then  there  are  Eskifiorth  and  Vopnafiorth  in  the  east, 
Akreyri  in  the  north,  and  Stykkisholm  and  Hafharfiorth 
in  the  west,  all  places  of  considerable  trade.  All  goods  are 
taken  to  Iceland  duty  free ;  and  letters  and  papers  are  car- 
ried there  in  government  vessels,  free  of  postage,  and  sent 
through  the  island  by  government  messengers.  By  the 
present  arrangement,  the  government  "post-ship"  makes 
five  voyages  to  and  from  Iceland  in  a  year.  It  sails  from 
Copenhagen  to  Reykjavik  on  the  first  days  of  March,  May, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  57 

July,  and  October,  and  from  Liverpool  to  Reykjavik  on  the 
first  day  of  January.  It  leaves  Reykjavik,  for  Copenhagen, 
February  1st,  April  1st,  June  1st,  and  August  10th ;  and 
from  Reykjavik  for  Liverpool  on  the  10th  of  November. 
One  half  of  the  trips  each  way,  it  stops  at  the  Faroe  Isles. 
In  addition  to  the  mail  service  by  this  ship,  letter-bags  are 
forwarded  from  Denmark  by  the  different  vessels  trading 
to  Iceland. 

All  travel  and  transportation  of  goods  and  the  mail 
through  the  interior  of  Iceland  is  on  horseback.  There's 
not  a  carriage-road,  a  wheeled  vehicle,  a  steam-engine,  a 
post-office,  a  custom-house,  a  police  officer,  a  fort,  a  soldier, 
or  a  lawyer  in  the  whole  country.  Goods,  dried  fish,  and 
valuables  are  left  out  of  doors,  unguarded,  with  impunity, 
stealing  being  almost  unknown.  There  never  was  but  one 
prison  in  the  island,  and  that  was  used  also  as  an  almshouse. 
Even  then  it  was  nearly  useless,  and  most  always  without  a 
tenant ;  and  finally,  to  put  it  to  some  use,  it  was  converted 
into  a  residence  for  the  Governor,  and  is  now  the  "  White 
House "  in  the  capital  of  Iceland.  Taxes  are  very  light, 
and  do  not  amount  to  as  much  as  the  expense  of  carrying 
on  the  government,  paying  the  officers,  and  transporting  the 
mail.  The  Icelanders  are  universally  educated  to  that  ex- 
tent that  all  can  read  and  write.  There  is  but  one  school 
or  institution  of  learning  in  the  country — the  college  at 
Reykjavik.  This  has  a  president  and  eight  professors,  and 
usually  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  students.  The  boys  edu- 
cated here  are  nearly  all  trained  for  clergymen,  or  else  to 
fill  some  of  the  civil  offices  in  the  island,  or  they  expect  to 


58  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

go  abroad,  or  live  in  Denmark.  This  institution  is  endowed 
by  the  Danish  government,  and  was  formerly  at  Bessas- 
stath,  a  few  miles  south  of  Reykjavik,  whence  it  was  removed 
a  few  years  since.  The  president  is  Bjarni  Johnson,  Esq., 
a  native  Icelander,  a  gentleman  of  rare  accomplishments 
and  learning,  and  one  of  the  first  linguists  in  Europe.  The 
Hebrew,  Greek,  Latin,  Danish,  French  and  English  lan- 
guages are  taught  here,  as  well  as  most  of  the  sciences.  It 
was  during  college  vacation  when  I  was  in  the  country,  and 
I  used  to  meet  in  the  interior,  at  their  fathers'  houses,  young 
men  who  were  students  of  the  college,  and  who  could  con- 
verse fluently  in  Latin,  Danish,  French,  or  English.  The 
Bible  or  Testament,  and  usually  many  other  books,  particu- 
larly historical  and  poetical  works,  are  found  in  nearly  every 
house  in  Iceland.  The  population  being  scanty,  with  the 
great  majority  of  the  people  it  is  impracticable  to  have 
schools,  so  that  education  is  confined  to  the  family  circle. 
During  their  long  winter  evenings,  while  both  males  and 
females  are  engaged  in  domestic  labors,  spinning,  weaving, 
or  knitting — by  turns  one  will  take  a  book,  some  history, 
biography,  or  the  Bible,  and  read  aloud.  The  length  of 
their  winter  nights  can  be  appreciated  when  we  consider 
that  the  sun  in  December  is  above  the  horizon  but  three  or 
four  hours.  Before  and  after  Christmas  he  rises,  sleepily, 
at  about  ten  o'clock,  and  retires  between  one  and  two  in  the 
afternoon.  This  is  quite  different  from  the  earlier  habits 
and  longer  visits  of  that  very  respectable  luminary  in  more 
temperate  and  tropical  climes.  True,  he  makes  atonement 
in  the  summer,  when  he  keeps  his  eye  open  and  surveys  the 


KAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  59 

land  daily  from  twenty  to  twenty-one  hours.  Then  he  rises 
between  one  and  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  looks  abroad 
over  a  sleeping  world,  and  only  retires  behind  the  moun- 
tains at  near  eleven  o'clock  at  night. 

While  traveling  in  the  country,  I  used  frequently  to  ask 
the  children  in  poor  families  to  read  to  me  in  Icelandic,  and 
I  never  saw  one  above  the  age  of  nine  years  that  could  not 
read  in  a  masterly  style.  Their  writing,  too,  is  almost  in- 
variably of  great  elegance.  This  is  partly  owing  to  their 
practice  of  multiplying  copies  in  manuscript,  of  almost  all 
the  historical  and  poetical  works  written  in  the  country, 
copying  them  in  advance  of  their  publication,  and  often  af- 
terwards. The  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  have 
changed  with  the  progress  of  time  and  the  change  in  their 
form  of  government.  In  old  times  we  are  told,  that  when 
the  Icelanders  or  Norwegians  were  about  setting  out  on  any 
expedition  of  importance  they  used  to  have  a  grand  feast- 
At  these  banquets,  horse-flesh  was  one  of  their  luxuries. 
Bards  and  minstrels  would  recite  poems  composed  for  the 
occasion ;  and  story,  song,  and  hilarity,  added  zest  to  the  en- 
tertainment. After  eating,  drinking,  and  singing,  to  a 
pretty  high  degree  of  elevation,  they  would  close  the  pro- 
ceedings by  throwing  the  bones  at  one  another  across  the 
tables !  We  are  not  informed,  however,  that  the  modern 
Icelanders  indulge  in  these  luxuries.  Their  trade  is  gone, 
and  they  are  now  a  simple,  pastoral  people.  In  complexion 
the  Icelanders  resemble  the  Anglo-Saxon  race,  often  having 
florid  and  handsome  countenances.  They  ate  fine  figures, 
frequently  tall,  several  that  I  have  seen  being  over  six  feet 


60  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

in  height.  Light  hair  most  usually  prevails,  but  I  have 
seen  some  that  was  quite  dark.  In  a  large  district  in  the 
northwest  of  Iceland,  all  the  men  wear  their  beards,  a  prac- 
tice that  has  been  in  vogue  for  hundreds  of  years.  They 
always  seem  pleased  when  a  stranger  appears  among  them 
who  has  adopted  a  fashion  so  much  in  accordance  with  their 
own  philosophy,  with  nature,  and  the  laws  of  health,  and  at 
the  same  time  that  adds  so  much  to  the  personal  appear- 
ance of  the  lords  of  creation. 


CHAPTEE    IV. 

Ask  where's  the  North  :  at  York  'tis  on  the  Tweed, 

In  Scotland  at  the  Orcades ;  and  there 

At  Greenland,  Zembla,  or  the  Lord  knows  where. 

Essay  on  Man. 

Hvar  er  norSur  ytst  ? 

Sagt  er  i  Jork,  |>a5  se  vi$  Tveit ; 
Segir  Skottinn :  vifc  Orkneyjar ; 
En  f>ar :  vi$  Greenland,  Zemblu,  sveit 
Sett  meinar  J>aS — og  gn$  veit  hvar. 

Popes  Essay;  Icelandic  version. 

We  landed  at  Reykjavik  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Though  the  sun  was  near  five  hours  high,  scarce  a  person 
was  up.  At  this  season  the  sun  evidently  rises  too  early  for 
them.  Sleep  must  be  had,  though,  whether  darkness  comes 
or  not.  Reykjavik  with  its  1,200  people,  for  a  capital  city, 
does  not  make  an  extensive  show.  The  main  street  runs 
parallel  with  the  low  gravelly  beach,  with  but  few  houses 
on  the  side  next  the  water.  In  one  respect  this  is  a  singu- 
lar-looking place.  Nearly  all  the  houses  are  black.  They 
are  principally  wooden  buildings,  one  story  high,  and  cov^- 
ered  with  a  coat  of  tar  instead  of  paint.  Sometimes  they 
use  tar  mixed  with  clay.  The  tar  at  first  is  dark  red,  but  in 
a  little  time  it  becomes  black.  They  lay  it  on  ihick,  and  it 
preserves  the  wood  wonderfully.      I  walked  through  the 


62  RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND. 

lonely  streets,  and  was  struck  with  the  appearance  of  taste 
and  comfort  in  the  modest-looking  dwellings.  Lace  cur- 
tains, and  frequently  crimson  ones  in  addition,  and  pots  of 
flowers — geraniums,  roses,  fuchsias,  &c. — were  in  nearly 
every  window.  The  white  painted  sash  contrasted  strongly 
with  the  dark,  tar-colored  wood.  After  hearing  a  good  deal 
of  the  poverty  of  the  Icelanders,  and  their  few  resources,  I 
am  surprised  to  find  the  place  look  so  comfortable  and 
pleasant.  The  merchant  usually  has  his  store  and  house 
under  one  roof.  The  cathedral  is  a  neat,  substantial  church 
edifice,  built  of  brick,  and  surmounted  by  a  steeple.  This, 
with  the  college,  three  stories  high,  the  hotel,  a  two- 
story  building  with  a  square  roof  running  up  to  a  peak,  and 
the  governor's  house,  a  long,  low,  white-washed  edifice  built 
of  lava,  are  the  largest  buildings  in  Reykjavik.  Directly 
back  of  the  town  is  a  small  fresh-water  lake,  about  a  mile 
in  length.  What  surprises  me  most  is  the  luxuriance  of 
the  vegetation.  Potatoes  several  feet  high,  and  in  blossom, 
and  fine-looking  turnips,  and  beds  of  lettuce,  appear  in  most 
all  the  gardens.  In  the  governor's  garden  I  see  a  very 
flourishing-looking  treej  trained  against  the  south  side  of  a 
wall.  This  is  not  quite  large  enough  for  a  main-mast  to  a 
man-of-war,  but  still  it  might  make  a  tolerable  cane,  that 
is,  provided  it  was  straight.  It  is  about  five  feet  high,  and 
is,  perhaps,  the  largest  tree  in  Iceland.  Certainly  it  is  the 
largest  I  have  yet  seen.  The  temperature,  now,  in  mid- 
summer, is  completely  delicious.  The  people  I  am  highly 
pleased  with,  so  far  as  I  have  seen  them.     There  is  an  asrree- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  63 

able  frankness  about  them,  and  a  hearty  hospitality,  not  to 
be  mistaken. 

I  have  just  had  a  ride  of  six  or  seven  miles  into  the 
country,  to  Hafnarfiorth.  Professor  Johnson,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  College,  accompanied  me.  We  rode  the  small 
pony  horses  of  the  country,  and  they  took  us  over  the 
ground  at  a  rapid  rate.  The  country  is  rough,  and  a  great 
part  of  it  hereabouts  covered  with  rocks  of  lava.  We 
passed  one  farm  and  farm-house  where  the  meadows  were 
beautifully  green,  strongly  contrasting  with  the  black,  deso- 
late appearance  of  the  lava-covered  hills.  One  tract  was  all 
rocks,  without  a  particle  of  earth  or  vegetation  in  sight. 
The  lava  had  once  flowed  over  the  ground,  then  it  cooled 
and  broke  up  into  large  masses,  often  leaving  deep  seams 
or  cracks,  some  of  them  so  wide  that  it  took  a  pretty  smart 
leap  of  the  pony  to  plant  himself  safe  on  the  other  side.  At 
one  place  where  the  seam  in  the  lava  was  some  twenty  feet 
across,  there  was  an  arch  of  rock  forming  a  complete  natu- 
ral bridge  over  the  chasm.  The  road  led  directly  across 
this.  We  passed  near  Bessasstath,  for  many  years  the  seat 
of  the  Iceland  college.  Near  this,  Prof.  Johnson  showed 
me  his  birth-place.  The  house  where  he  was  born  was  a 
hut  of  lava,  covered  with  turf,  and  probably  about  as  splen- 
did a  mansion  as  those  where  Jackson  and  Clay  first  saw  the 
light.  Suddenly,  almost  directly  under  us,  as  we  were 
among  the  lava  rocks,  the  village  of  Hafnarfiorth  appeared. 
This  is  a  little  sea-port  town  of  some  twenty  or  thirty 
houses,  extending  in  a  single  street  nearly  round  the  harbor. 
We  called  on  a  Mr.  Johnson,  a  namesake  of  my  companion, 


64  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  were  very  hospitably  entertained.  The  table  was  soon 
covered  with  luxuries,  and  after  partaking  of  some  of  the 
good  things,  and  an  hour's  conversation,  we  had  our  horses 
brought  to  the  door.  Our  host  was  a  Dane,  a  resident  mer- 
chant of  the  place,  and  he  had  a  very  pretty  and  intelligent 
wife.  They  gave  me  a  pressing  invitation  to  call  on  them 
again,  the  which  I  promised  to  do — whenever  I  should  go 
that  way  again !  I  returned  the  compliment,  and  I  believe 
with  sincerity  on  my  part.  '  That  is,  I  told  them  I  should 
be  very  happy  to  have  them  call  at  my  house  when  they 
could  make  it  convenient.  Now,  some  of  the  uncharitable 
may  be  disposed  to  say  that  all  this  ceremony  on  my  part 
was  quite  useless.  True,  I  lived  thousands  of  miles  from 
the  residence  of  my  entertainers,  that  is,  if  I  may  be  said 
to  "  live  "  anywhere ;  and,  being  a  bachelor,  I  had  no  house 
of  my  own,  nor  never  had  ;  but  if  I  had  a  house,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Johnson  would  call  on  me,  I  should  be  very  glad 
to  see  them  ! 

I  should  mention  that  Prof.  Johnson  speaks  English 
fluently ;  mine  host,  not  a  word ;  neither  could  I  speak 
much  Danish ;  but  with  the  learned  professor  between  us, 
as  interpreter,  we  got  along  very  well.  A  violent  rain  had 
fallen,  while  we  were  coming  ;  but  it  cleared  up,  and  we 
had  a  pleasant  ride  back  to  Reykjavik,  arriving  about 
eleven  o'clock,  a  little  after  sunset. 

After  a  few  days  at  the  capital,  I  prepared  for  a  journey 
to  the  interior.  A  traveler  can  take  "  the  first  train"  for 
the  Geysers,  if  he  chooses ;  but  that  train  will  hardly  go 
forty  miles  an  hour.     It  is  only  seventy  miles ;  but  if  he 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  65 

gets  over  that  ground  in  two  days,  he  will  do  well.  There's 
plenty  of  steam  and  hot  water  here,  and  "  high  pressure  " 
enough ;  but  you  may  look  a  long  while  for  locomotives ; 
or — if  I  may  perpetrate  a  bad  pun — any  motives  but  local 
ones,  in  the  whole  country.  Roads — except  mere  bridle 
paths — or  vehicles  of  any  kind,  as  I  have  mentioned,  are 
unknown  in  Iceland.  All  travel  is  on  horseback.  Immense 
numbers  of  horses  are  raised  in  the  country,  and  they  are 
exceedingly  cheap.  As  for  traveling  on  foot,  even  short 
journeys,  no  one  ever  thinks  of  it.  The  roads  are  so  bad 
for  walking  and  generally  so  good  for  riding,  that  shoe- 
leather,  to  say  nothing  of  fatigue,  would  cost  nearly  as 
much  as  horseflesh.  Their  horses  are  certainly  elegant, 
hardy  little  animals.  A  stranger  in  traveling  must  always 
have  "  a  guide  ;"  and  if  he  goes  equipped  for  a  journey,  and 
wishes  to  make  good  speed,  he  must  have  six  or  eight  horses ; 
one  each  for  himself  and  the  guide,  and  one  or  two  for  the 
baggage ;  and  then  as  many  relay  horses.  When  one  set 
of  horses  are  tired,  the  saddles  are  taken  oft'  and  changed 
to  the  others.  The  relay  horses  are  tied  together,  and 
either  led  or  driven ;  and  this  is  the  time  they  rest.  A 
tent  is  carried,  unless  a  traveler  chooses  to  take  his  chance 
for  lodgings.  Such  a  thing  as  a  hotel  is  not  found  in  Ice- 
land, out  of  the  capital.  He  must  take  his  provisions  with 
him,  as  he  will  be  able  to  get  little  on  his  route  except 
milk ;  sometimes  a  piece  of  beef,  or  a  saddle  of  mutton  or 
venison,  and  some  fresh-water  fish.  The  luggage  is  carried 
in  packing  trunks  that  are  made  for  the  purpose,  and  fas- 
tened to  a  rude  sort  of  frame  that  serves  as  a  pack-saddle. 
4 


66  EAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

Under  this,  broad  pieces  of  turf  are  placed  to  prevent  gall- 
ing the  horse's  back.    I  prepared  for  a  journey  of  some 
weeks  in  the  interior,  and  ordered  my  stores   accordingly. 
I  had  packed  up  bread,  cheese,  a  boiled  ham,  Bologna  sau- 
sages, some  tea  and  sugar,  a  few  bottles  of  wine,  and  some- 
thing a  little  stronger !     I  had  company  on  my  first  day's 
journey,  going  as  far  as  Thingvalla.     There  was  a  regular 
caravan  ;  about  a  dozen  gentlemen,  two  guides,  and  some 
twenty  horses.     My  "  suite"  consisted  of  guide,  four  horses, 
and  a  big  dog,  Nero^by  name,  but  by  the  way  a  far  more 
respectable  fellow,  in  his  sphere,  than  was  his  namesake 
the  old  emperor.     Our  cavalcade  was  not  quite  as  large  as 
the  one  that  annually  makes  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca,  but  a 
pretty  good  one  for  Iceland.     We  had  with  us,  Captain 
Laborde,  commander  of  the  French  war  frigate  now  lying 
in  the  harbor,  and  several  of  his  officers ;    Mr.  Johnson, 
president  of  the  college,  and  some  of  the  Reykjavik  mer- 
chants.    Nationally   speaking,   we   had    a   rather   motley 
assemblage,  albeit  they  were  all  of  one  color.     There  were 
French,   Danes,   and   natives;     and — towering   above   the 
crowd  (all  but  one  confounded  long  Icelander) — mounted 
on  a  milk-white  charger  eleven  hands  high,  was  one  live 
Yankee  !     We  were  to  rendezvous  in  the  morning  on  the 
public  square,  and  be  ready  to  start  at  seven  o'clock.     Not- 
withstanding  great   complaints    that   travelers   sometimes 
make  of  the  slowness  of  Iceland  servants,  we  were  ready 
and  off  at  half  past  seven.     On  we  went,  at  a  high  speed, 
for   Thingvalla  is  a  long   day's  journey   from  Reykjavik. 
The  Iceland  ponies  are  up  to  most  any  weight.     There  was 


RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND.  6*7 

one  "  whopper  "  of  a  fellow  in  onr  company,  mounted  on  a 
snug-built  little  gray  that  seemed  to  make  very  light  of 
him.  Indeed  'twas  fun  to  see  them  go.  The  animal  for 
speed  and  strength  was  a  rare  one  ;  the  rider,  not  quite  a 
Daniel  Lambert : — 

"But,  for  fat  on  the  ribs,  no  Leicestershire  bullock  was  rounder ; 
He  galloped,  he  walloped,  and  he  flew  like  a  sixty-four  pounder." 

No  etiquette  touching  precedence  on  the  road.  You  can 
go  ahead  and  run  by  them  all,  provided  your  pony  is  swift 
enough,  but  if  not,  you  can  go  behind. 

To  all  appearance,  an  Iceland  landscape  does  not  come 
up,  in  point  of  fertility,  to  the  Genesee  country  or  the  Carse 
of  Gowrie.  "  Magnificent  forests,"  "  fields  of  waving  grain," 
and  all  that,  may  exist  in  western  New  York,  in  old  Vir- 
ginia, or  in  California ;  but  not  in  Iceland.  We  passed, 
during  the  first  five  miles,  one  or  two  farms  with  their 
green  meadows ;  then,  mile  after  mile  of  lava  and  rock- 
covered  fields.  Was  the  reader  ever  in  the  town  of  De 
Kalb,  St.  Lawrence  county,  New  York  ?  That  fertile  and 
beautiful  grazing  country,  where  the  sheep  have  their  noses 
filed  off  to  a  point,  so  that  they  can  get  them  between  the 
rocks,  to  crop  the  grass !  That  paradise  of  the  birds,  where 
the  crows  carry  a  sack  of  corn  with  them  while  journeying 
over  the  country,  lest  they  starve  on  the  way,  and  tumble 
headlong  on  the  plain  !  That  delightful  region  will  give  a 
little,  a  very  slight  idea  of  some  part  of  Iceland.  By  the 
way,  that  old  town  in  New  York,  methinks,  is  quite  rightly 
named.    The  name  was  given  it  in  honor  of  that  Polish 


68  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

nobleman  who  poured  out  his  blood  and  yielded  up  his  life 
on  the  field  of  Camden,  in  the  sacred  cause  of  American 
liberty.  Brave  Baron  De  Kalb !  Green  waves  the  pine — 
I  once  trod  the  turf — where  thou  did'st  fall.  We  treasure 
thy  name  and  title,  and  endeavor  to  remember  thy  virtues, 
by  calling  a  town  after  thee — barren  De  Kalb  ! 

In  speaking  of  rocks  in  Iceland,  it  will  be  borne  in 
mind  that  every  mineral  substance  here  is  volcanic — lava, 
pumice,  trap,  basalt,  jasper,  obsidian,  &c.  The  whole 
island  is  undoubtedly  one  entire  volcanic  creation,  produced 
by  a  submarine' eruption.  In  the  whole  country  there  has 
never  been  seen  a  particle  of  granite,  limestone,  mineral 
coal,  iron  or  precious  metal,  or  any  of  the  primitive  forma- 
tion of  rocks.  The  lava  is  most  all  of  a  dark  color,  usually 
brown  ;  some  of  the  very  old  is  quite  red,  and  the  new  very 
black.  It  is  scattered  about,  piled  up  in  heaps,  regular  and 
irregular,  and  of  every  imaginable  shape  and  form.  About 
a  mile  and  a  half  from  Reykjavik  is  a  large  pleasant  valley 
of  green  grass.  This  is  a  common  pasture  for  all  the  cows 
and  some  of  the  horses  that  are  owned  in  the  town.  A 
few  miles  brought  us  to  the  valley  of  the  Laxa  or  Salmon 
river ;  and  here  is  a  very  good  farm,  the  owner  of  it  hiring 
the  salmon  fishery,  which  is  the  property  of  the  crown. 
Several  thousand  salmon  are  taken  here  every  year.  The 
mode  of  catching  them  is  somewhat  peculiar.  The  river 
has  two  separate  channels,  and  when  the  fishing  season 
arrives,  by  means  of  two  dams,  they  shut  all  the  current  off 
of  one,  and,  as  the  water  drains  away,  there  they  are,  like 
whales  at  ebb  tide  ;  and  all  the  fishermen  have  to  do  is  to 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND.  69 

go  into  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  pick  them  up.  Then 
the  water  is  turned  from  the  other  channel  into  the  empty 
one,  and  there  the  unlucky  fish  are  again  caught.  The 
period  of  the  salmon  fishing  is  one  of  interest  to  the  whole 
community.  They  are  sold  very  cheap  throughout  the 
country,  and  those  not  wanted  for  immediate  consumption 
are  dried  and  smoked,  and  many  of  them  exported.  These 
smoked  salmon  are  often  purchased  here  as  low  as  a  penny 
sterling  a  pound,  and  taken  to  England  and  sold  from  six* 
pence  to  a  shilling. 

In  traveling  over  the  country  our  "  road "  was  seldom 
visible  for  more  than  a  few  rods  before  us,  and  sometimes 
it  was   rather   difficult  to  trace.      On   stony  ground  the 
ponies  had  to  scramble  along  the  best  way  they  could.     On 
the  grass  lands  there  were  paths,  such  as  animals  traveling 
always  make.     Sometimes  these  were  worn  deep  through 
the  turf ;  and  a  long  man  on  a  short  pony,  when  the  paths 
are  crooked  and  the  speed  high,  has  to  keep  his  feet  going 
pretty  lively,  or  get  his  toe-nails  knocked  off !     I  got  one 
fall,  and  rather  an  ignominious  one.     My  pony  threw  me 
full  length  on  the  grass,  but  I  had  not  far  to  fall  and  soon 
picked  myself  up  again.     On  assessing  the  damage,  I  found 
it  consisted  of  one  button  off  my  coat,  a  little  of  the  soil  of 
Iceland  on  both  knees,  and  a  trifle  on  my  face.     The  pony 
kicked  up  his  heels  and  ran  off;  but  one  of  the  gentlemen 
soon  caught  him,  and  on  I  mounted  and  rode  off  again. 
About  half  way  to  Thingvalla,  we  stopped  where  there  was 
some  grass  for  our  horses,  and  had  breakfast.     Starting  at 
seven  gave  a  good  relish  to  a  dejeuner  at  eleven  o'clock, 


VO  RAMBLES  IN   ICELAND. 

An  hour's  rest,  and  we  were  again  in  the  saddle.  In  the 
morning  it  rained  hard,  but  towards  noon  it  cleared  up, 
and  we  had  pleasant  weather. 

Our  road  led  through  one  of  the  most  desolate  regions 
I  ever  saw  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  But,  however  rocky 
and  forbidding  in  appearance  the  country  may  be,  there  is 
always  one  relief  to  an  Iceland  landscape.  A  fine  back- 
ground of  mountains  fills  up  the  picture.  Then,  too,  there 
is  a  magical  effect  to  the  atmosphere  here  that  I  have  never 
seen  anywhere  else.  The  atmosphere  is  so  pure,  the  strong 
contrasts  of  black,  brown,  and  red  lavas,  and  the  green 
fields  and  snowy  mountains,  make  splendid  pictures  of  land- 
scape  and  mountain  scenery,  even  at  twenty  miles  distance. 
Captain  Laborde  said,  in  all  the  countries  where  he  had 
traveled,  he  never  saw  any  thing  at  all  like  it,  except  in 
Greece.  As  we  approached  lake  Thingvalla,  he  said  the 
mountains  opposite  formed  a  perfect  Grecian  picture.  I 
have  thought  myself  a  pretty  good  judge  of  distances,  and 
have  been  very  much  accustomed  to  measure  distances  with 
my  eye,  but  here  all  my  cunning  fails  me.  At  Reykjavik  I 
looked  across  the  bay  at  the  fine  range  of  the  Esjan  moun- 
tains, and  thought  I  would  like  a  ramble  there.  So  I  asked 
a  boatman  to  set  me  across,  and  wait  till  I  went  up  the 
mountain  and  had  a  view  from  the  top.  He  looked  a  lit- 
tle queer,  and  asked  me  how  far  I  thought  it  was  across  the 
bay.  "Well,"  I  replied,  "a  couple  of  miles,  probably." 
As  the  Kentuckian  would  say,  I  felt  a  little  "  chawed  up" 
when  I  was  told  that  it  was  thirteen  or  fourteen  English 
miles,  that  the  mountain  was  near  3,000  feet  high,  and  I 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  71 

should  require  a  large  boat,  several  men,  a  guide,  and  pro- 
visions, and  that  it  would  be  a  long  day's  work  to  begin 
early  in  the  morning  !     I  left,  I  did. 

There  are  few  measured  distances  in  inland  travel  here. 
They  go  by  time,  and  will  tell  you  it  is  so  many  hours'  ride, 
or  so  many  days'  journey  to  such  a  place.  We  were  seven 
hours  to-day  in  going  from  Reykjavik  to  Thingvalla,  and  I 
think  we  averaged  five  miles  an  hour.  It  is  probably  thirty- 
five  or  thirty-six  miles.  Much  of  the  way  the  roads  were 
bad,  and  we  walked  our  horses  ;  and  when  they  were  good 
we  put  them  through  at  the  top  of  their  speed.  Our  fat 
friend  with  his  pony,  did  not  steeple-chase  it  much  ; 

"  But,  those  who've  seen  him  will  confess  it,  he 
Marched  well  for  one  of  such  obesity." 

About  ten  miles  from  Thingvalla  we  came  to  a  house,  a  sol- 
itary caravansera  in  the  desert.  We  concluded  to  patronize 
it,  and  halted ;  and  while  the  ponies  were  contemplating  the 
beauties  of  the  mineralogical  specimens  that  covered  the 
ground,  we  took  some  refreshment.  That  is,  those  who  in- 
dulge in  the  use  of  the  weed  that  adorns  the  vallies  of  the 
land  of  Pocahontas,  took  a  slight  fumigation  ;  but  having 
some  ham  in  my  provision-chest,  I  did  not  wish  to  make 
smoked  meat  of  myself  then.  So  I  pulled  from  my  poke — 
look  the  other  way,  Father  Mathew! — a  "pocket-pistol," 
and  extracted  a  small  charge  !  It  was  not  loaded  with  any 
thing  stronger  than  the  products  of  the  vineyards  of  France. 
The  "  hotel"  was  one  story  high ;  and,  without  trying  to 
make  much  of  a  story  about  it,  it  had  but  one  room,  walls 


Y2  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

of  lava,  and  minus  the  roof.  It  is  needless  to  say,  the  hotel- 
keeper  had  stepped  out.  It  had  one  piece  of  furniture,  a 
wooden  bench,  and  on  the  slight  timbers  that  supported 
what  had  been  a  roof,  were  the  names  of  sundry  travelers. 
I  took  out  my  pencil,  and  in  my  boldest  chirography  wrote 
the  illustrious  name  of — "  John  Smith  !" 

A  few  miles  from  our  caravansera  we  came  to  the  banks 
of  the  lake  of  Thingvalla,  or,  in  Icelandic,  "  Thingvalla 
vatn."  This  lake  is  [about  ten  miles  long,  and  the  largest 
body  of  water  in  Iceland.  It  is  of  great  depth,  in  some 
places  over  1,000  feet  deep.  The  town,  or  place,  or  what 
had  been  a  place,  is  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake.  Just  be- 
fore arriving  there,  while  jogging  along  on  the  level  ground, 
we  came  suddenly  upon  the  brink  of  an  immense  chasm, 
150  feet  deep,  and  about  the  same  in  breadth.  This  was 
one  of  those  seams  or  rents  in  the  earth,  common  in  Ice- 
land ;  originally  a  crack  in  a  bed  of  lava.  Its  precipitous 
sides  and  immense  depth  seemed  at  once  a  bar  to  our  pro- 
gress ;  and  without  a  bridge  over  it,  or  ropes  or  wings,  we 
saw  no  way  of  getting  along  without  going  round  it.  With- 
out seeing  either  end,  and  wondering  how  we  were  to  get 
round  it,  we  were  told  we  must  go  through  it.  And 
*  sure  enough,  and  the  animals,  as  well  as  the  guides,  seemed 
to  understand  it ;  and  if  we  had  kept  in  our  saddles  I  actu- 
ally believe  they  would  have  found  their  way  down  this 
almost  perpendicular  precipice.  We,  however,  dismounted, 
and  in  a  steep  defile  were  shown  a  passage  that  much  re- 
sembled the  "  Devil's  Staircase,"  at  the  Pass  of  Glencoe,  in 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland.      By  picking  and  clambering 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND.  ^3 

our  way  down  some  pretty  regular  stairs — and  our  horses 
followed  without  our  holding  their  bridles — we  made  our 
way  to  the  bottom.  There  we  found  grass  growing ;  and, 
while  our  ponies  were  feeding,  we  lay  on  the  turf  and  ad- 
mired this  singular  freak  of  nature.  We  were  in  the  bot- 
tom of  a  deep  chasm  or  defile,  the  wall  on  the  west  side 
being  over  a  hundred  feet  high  and  on  a  level  with  the 
country  back  of  it.  The  wall  on  the  east  side  was  lower, 
and  beyond  this  wall  the  country  was  on  a  level  with  the 
bottom  where  we  were.  By  walking  a  short  distance  to  the 
north,  in  this  singular  defile,  we  found  the  wall  on  the  east 
side  broken  down  by  a  river  that  poured  down  the  precipice 
from  the  west,  and  being  thus  imprisoned  between  two  walls, 
it  had  thrown  down  the  lowest  one,  and  found  its  way  into 
the  Thingvalla  lake.  This  chasm  is  called  the  Almannagjd 
(pronounced  Al-man-a-gow),  or  "  all  men's  cave."  In  for- 
mer days,  when  the  Althing,  or  Icelandic  Congress,  met  at 
the  place,  all  men  of  consequence,  or  nearly  all,  used  to  as- 
semble here  ;  and  no  doubt  they  admired  this  singular  freak 
of  nature.  The  river  here,  the  Oxera,  in  pouring  over  the 
precipice  forms  a  most  splendid  cataract.  Here  is  Thing- 
valla, a  once  important  place,  and,  as  I  have  mentioned,  for 
nearly  a  thousand  years  the  capital  of  the  nation.  It  is  now 
a  mere  farm,  and  contains  two  huts  and  a  very  small  church. 
This  church  is  on  about  the  same  scale  of  most  of  the 
churches  in  Iceland.  It  is  a  wooden  building,  about 
eighteen  feet  long  by  twelve  wide,  with  a  door  less  than  five 
feet  high.  It  is  customary  for  the  clergyman  or  farmer — 
and  the  owner  of  the  land  is  often  both — to  store  his  pro- 
4* 


*74  RAMBLES  IN   ICELAND. 

visions,  boxes  of  clothing,  dried  fish,  &c,  in  the  church ;  and 
strangers  in  the  country  often  sleep  in  the  churches.  Some 
travelers  have  made  a  great  outcry  about  the  desecration  of 
turning  .a  church  into  a  hotel,  but  with  all  their  squeamish- 
ness  have  usually  fallen  into  the  general  custom.  Surely  if 
their  tender  consciences  went  against  it,  they  had  "  all  out 
doors "  for  a  lodging  place.  I  have  not  yet  arrived  at  the 
honor  of  sleeping  in  a  church,  though  I  have  slept  out  of 
doors ;  and  when  I  have  tried  both,  I  will  tell  which  I  like 
best.  A  tent  has  been  presented  to  the  important  "  town"  of 
Thingvalla,  by  the  liberality  of  the  French  officers  who 
visit  the  coast ;  and  this  was  pitched  for  our  use.  The  cler- 
gyman here — who  is  also  farmer  and  fisherman — a  pale, 
spare,  intellectual-looking  young  man,  received  us  very 
kindly.  It  was  the  haying  season,  and  the  ground  was  cov- 
ered with  the  new-mown  hay.  Two  of  the  working-men  of 
the  farm  had  that  day  been  out  on  the  lake,  fishing  in  a 
small  boat.  They  came  to  the  shore  as  we  rode  up,  and  I 
had  the  curiosity  to  go  and  see  what  they  had  caught. 
And  what  had  they  ?  Who  can  guess  ?  No  one.  Over 
two  hundred  and  fifty  fresh-water  trout,  all  alive  "  and  kick- 
ing." They  were  large,  handsome  fellows,  and  would  weigh 
from  one  to  three  pounds  each.  Not  a  fish  that  wouldn't 
weigh  over  a  pound.  But  didn't  I  scream  ?  "  Oh,  Captain 
Laborde !  Rector  Johnson  !  I  say ;  come  and  see  the  fish. 
Speckled  trout,  more  than  two  barrels-full."  Well,  hang 
up  my  fish-hooks ;  I'll  never  troll  another  line  in  Sandy 
Creek.  The  tent  pitched,  some  trout  dressed,  and  a  fire 
built  in  the  smithy,  and  we  soon  had  a  dinner  cooking. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  ^5 

And  such  a  dinner !  Well,  say  French  naval  officers  on 
shore,  Icelanders,  Yankees,  and  Cosmopolites,  can  not  enjoy 
life  "  in  the  tented  field  "  !  But  this  chapter  is  long  enough, 
and  I'll  tell  about  the  dinner  in  my  next. 


CHAP  TEE   Y. 


__ — ■ —  "he  was  a  bachelor,        *        *        * 
*         *        *        *        and,  though  a  lad, 
Had  seen  the  world,  which  is  a  curious  sight, 
And  very  much  unlike  what  people  write," 

Had  that  celebrated  Pope  whose  Christian  name  was 
Alexander,  believed  that  his  immortal  Essay  would  have 
been  translated  into  Icelandic  verse  by  a  native  Icelander, 
and  read  throughout  the  country,  he  would  not  have  vaulted 
clear  over  the  volcanic  isle  in  his  enumeration  of  places  at 
*'.  the  North."  And  then,  too,  our  poetical  Pope  is  the  only 
pontiff  who  has  any  admirers  in  this  northern  land.  The 
last  Catholic  bishop  of  the  country  left  few  believers  of 
that  faith  in  the  island. 

Yesterday,  under  the  canvas  of  an  Iceland  tent,  a  party 
was  seated  at  dinner.  It  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Thing- 
valla  vatn.  The  hospitable  clergyman  furnished  us  trout, 
and  a  good  sportsman  among  the  French  officers  produced 
several  fine  birds,  plovers  and  curlews  that  he  had  shot  on 
the  way,  often  without  leaving  his  horse.  We  had  excel- 
lent milk  and  cream  from  the  farm,  and  the  packing-cases 
of  the  party  furnished  the  balance  of  as  good  a  dinner  as 
hungry  travelers  ever  sat  down  to.  The  Frenchmen — like 
those  in  the  Peninsular  war,  who  gathered  vegetables  to 


Jt  AMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  V7 

boil  with  their  beef,  rather  than  roast  it  alone  as  the  English 
soldiers  did  theirs — our  Frenchmen — gathered  some  plants, 
that  looked  to  me  very  like  dandelions,  and  dressed  them 
with  oil  and  vinegar  for  salad.  Though  it  was  rather  a  fail- 
ure, it  showed  that  an  eye  was  open  to  the  productions  of  the 
country,  albeit  it  was  not  a  perfect  garden.  I  picked  a  bird 
for  my  share  of  the  work — picked  him  clean,  too,  and  his 
bones  afterwards — and  found  it  as  good  as  a  grouse  or 
pheasant.  With  fine  Iceland  brushwood  from  a  "  forest " 
hard  by,  a  fire  was  made  in  the  blacksmith  shop,  and  there 
we  roasted  fish,  flesh,  and  fowl.  As  the  rest  of  the  party 
were  to  return  the  next  day  to  Reykjavik,  and  as  I  had  a 
long  tour  before  me,  they  would  not  allow  me  to  produce 
any  thing  towards  the  feast,  but  insisted  on  my  dining  with 
them.  I  was  too  old  a  traveler  to  refuse  a  good  invitation, 
and  accepted  at  once.  The  tent  was  pitched  on  a  smooth 
plat  of  grass  before  the  lake,  and  a  quantity  of  new- 
mown  hay,  with  our  traveling  blankets  and  saddles,  made 
first-rate  seats.  I  know  not  when  I  have  enjoyed  a  dinner 
more  than  I  did  this.  The  Frenchmen  conversed  with  their 
own  tongues  in  their  own  language ;  some  of  the  party 
spoke  Danish,  and  several  Icelandic  ;  I  gave  them  English 
— and  every  other  language  that  I  knew — the  modest  Ice- 
land clergyman  expressed  himself  in  Latin,  and  Rector 
Johnson  talked  them  all.  Time  flew  by — as  he  always  flies, 
tne  old  bird ! — while  the  big  white  loaves,  the  trout,  the 
game-birds,  the  sardines,  ham,  and  bottles  of  wine,  disap- 
peared rapidly.  We  drank,  not  deeply,  to  all  the  people 
in  the  world — kings  and  rulers  excepted,  for  they  always 


*78  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

have  enough  to  drink  to  their  good  health  and  long  life ; 
and  we  toasted,  among  others,  "  all  travelers  of  every  na- 
tion, and  in  all  climes,"  whether  on  land  or  sea,"  and  hoped 
that  none  were  "  seeing  the  elephant "  more  extensively 
than  we  were.  So  passed  our  dinner.  The  clergyman  was 
with  us ;  and  he  appeared  to  enjoy  the  foreign  luxuries,  as  we 
all  enjoyed  everything  about  us,  viands,  company,  scenery,  &c. 
Touching  the  fish  that  swim  hereabouts,  and  the  so- 
called  "sport"  of  angling,  I  am  told  that  the  Iceland  trout 
and  salmon  show  a  most  barbarous  indifference  to  the  at- 
tractive colors  of  all  artificial  flies  that  are  ever  thrown  them 
by  scientific  piscators.  Our  clerical  farmer-fisherman  who 
hauls  up  the  finny  tribes  in  the  Thingvalla  vatn,  uses  no 
barbed  piece  of  steel  to  tear  their  innocent  gills — "  a  pole 
and  a  string,  with  a  worm  at  one  end  and  a  fool  at  the 
other" — but  pulls  them  up  in  crowds  with  a  net.  He  seems 
to  think  as  some  others  do  of  the  barbarous  old  angler, 

"Whatever  Izaak  Walton  sings  or  says  ; — 
The  quaint  old  cruel  coxcomb,  in  his  gullet 
Should  have  a  hook,  and  a  small  trout  to  pull  it." 

After  dinner,  the  clergyman  took  us  about  to  show  us 
the  "  lions  "  of  the  place.  Thingvalla,  in  a  historical  point 
of  view,  is  by  far  the  most  celebrated  and  interesting 
locality  in  Iceland.  An  account  of  their  republican  con- 
gress or  Althing,  that  met  here,  has  been  given  in  a  former 
chapter.  The  meeting  of  courts  and  legislative  bodies, 
among  all  the  Scandinavian  tribes,  was  in  the  open  air. 
The  word  Thingvalla  is  from  thing,  a  court  of  justice,  and 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND.  *79 

valla,  a  plain.  Undoubtedly  from  the  same  origin  are  the 
names  of  Tingwall,  in  Shetland,  and  Dingwall,  in  the  north 
of  Scotland.  The  cognomen  "law"  is  given  to  several 
hills  in  Scotland,  and  undoubtedly  in  consequence  of  courts 
of  law  being  held  on  them  in  former  times.  Such  is  the 
tradition  attached  to  them. 

The  place  here  where  the  Althing  met  was  a  most 
singular  and  convenient  one.  Except  from  six  to  twelve 
inches  or  more  of  soil  on  top,  the  earth  here  is  solid  rock 
that  was  once  lava.  There  are  two  wide  and  deep  seams 
or  cracks  in  this  lava-rock,  that  meet  at  an  acute  angle, 
and  stretch  away  in  different  directions  into  the  plain. 
Between  these,  in  a  small  hollow,  shaped  like  an  amphi- 
theater, is  the  place  where  the  Althing  met.  These  seams 
or  chasms  are  like  natural  canals,  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet 
wide,  and  said  to  be  two  hundred  feet  deep.  They  are 
filled  up  to  within  twenty  or  thirty  feet  of  the  top,  with 
still,  black-looking  water,  and  are  said  to  have  a  subter- 
ranean communication  with  the  lake  about  half  a  mile 
distant.  Here,  on  this  triangular  piece  of  ground,  covered 
with  grassy  turf,  the  general  assembly  of  the  nation 
gathered  once  a  year,  in  the  summer  season.  Those  con- 
nected with  the  Althing  were  inside  these  natural  chasms, 
but  spectators  were  outside,  beyond  the  boundaries  of  the 
court.  This  was,  indeed,  a  primitive  house  of  representa- 
tives. Though  the  Icelanders  are  a  staid,  sober,  matter-of- 
fact  people,  undoubtedly  many  anecdotes  and  singular 
legislative  scenes  could  be  related  of  events  that  have 
transpired  at  this  spot.     One  was  told  us  by  the  clergyman, 


80  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

which,  from  its  singular  character,  has  been  handed  down, 
though  it  took  place  long  years  ago.  The  Althing,  having 
both  legislative  and  judicial  powers,  tried  criminals  and 
adjusted  differences,  as  well  as  made  laws.  A  man  was 
undergoing  his  trial  for  a  capital  offense ;  and,  though  in 
irons,  he  watched  his  opportunity  and  ran,  and  with  one 
fearful  leap  vaulted  clear  across  one  of  the  chasms  that 
formed  the  boundary  of  the  court.  We  were  shown  the 
spot.  It  is  twenty  feet  wide,  and  on  the  opposite  side  the 
ground  wras  several  feet  higher  than  the  bank  where  he 
started.  The  legend  says  he  got  clear  off,  and  thus  saved 
his  life ;  going  on  the  principle  which  the  Indian  adopted, 
that  if  you  hang  a  rogue  you  must  catch  him  first.  Near 
this  primitive  capitol  is  a  pool  of  deep,  black-looking  water, 
where  females  convicted  of  capital  crimes  were  drowned, 
A  little  to  the  west,  we  were  shown  an  island  in  the  river, 
where  male  culprits  were  beheaded. 

Another"  evidence  of  the  civilization  of  the  people 
during  a  former  age,  was  shown,  quite  as  palpable  as  any 
similar  signs  in  either  Old  or  New  England.  This  was  the 
spot  where  witches  were  burned  ;  as  late,  too,  as  the  com- 
mencement of  the  eighteenth  century.  How  singular  are 
some  cotemporaneous  events!  As  the  unseen  pestilence 
sweeps  through  the  atmosphere,  from  one  nation  to  another, 
so  will  a  moral  plague,  like  the  delusion  of  witchcraft, 
enchain  the  minds  of  a  Christian  community,  and  spread 
death  and  devastation  before  it.  There  are  scenes  and 
events  in  the  history  of  all  nations,  that  the  people  would 
gladly  blot  out  if  they  could.    One  of  our  party,  a  very 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  81 

intelligent  Icelander,  told  us  he  had  seen,  not  forty  years 
before,  heaps  of  charred  bones,  and  ashes,  on  this  spot,  where 
innocent  people  were  sacrificed  to  a  belief  in  witchcraft. 

But  these  assemblies  at  Thingvalla  were  principally 
identified  with  more  pleasant  scenes.  There  was  something 
besides  the  mere  sitting  of  the  supreme  court,  and  the 
gathering  of  the  people's  congress.  Sir  George  Mackenzie 
has  happily  expressed  the  interest'  of  these  gatherings. 
"At -the  assemblies  at  Thingvalla,"  he  says,  "though 
artificial  splendor  was  wanting,  yet  the  majesty  of  nature 
presided,  and  gave  a  superior  and  more  impressive  solemnity 
to"  the  scene.  On  the  banks  of  the  river  Oxera,  where  its 
rapid  stream  enters  a  lake  embosomed  among  dark  and 
precipitous  mountains,  was  held  during  more  than  eight 
centuries  the  annual  convention  of  the  people.  It  is  a  spot 
of  singular  wildness  and  desolation ;  on  every  side  of  which 
appear  the  most  tremendous  effects  of  ancient  convulsion 
and  disorder,  while  nature  now  sleeps  in  a  death-like 
silence  which  she  has  formed.  Here  the  legislators,  the 
magistrates,  and  the  people,  met  together.  Their  little 
group  of  tents,  placed  beside  the  stream,  was  sheltered 
behind  by  a  rugged  precipice  of  lava;  and  on  a  small, 
grassy  spot  in  the  midst  of  them  was  held  the  assembly 
which  provided,  by  its  deliberations,  for  the-  happiness  and 
tranquillity  of  the  nation." 

The  people  looked  forward  to  these  annual  gatherings 
with  great  interest.  They  met  here  in  large  numbers,  and 
from  all  parts  of  the  country.  Friend  met  friend,  sociality 
prevailed,   commodities   were   interchanged,  business   was 


82  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

transacted,  and  all  intermingled  in  agreeable,  social  inter- 
course. Many  families  being  here  during  the  time,  young 
men  found  wives,  and  maidens  obtained  husbands  ;  so  that 
the  bow  of  Cupid  flung  his  arrows  near  the  scales  of  justice. 
Here,  too,  idolatry  first  gave  way  in  Iceland,  and  here  the 
Christian  religion  was  first  publicly  acknowledged.  This 
was  in  the  year  1000.  At  that  time,  nearly  all  the  people 
were  idolaters.  Several  zealous  Christians  were  present, 
and  the  subject  was  discussed  at  the  Althing.  The  debate 
waxed  warm,  and  while  the  discussion  was  going  on,  a 
messenger  rushed  into  the  assembly  with  the  intelligence 
that  a  volcanic  eruption  had  broken  out  but  a  short 
distance  to  the  south.  Tho  idolaters  declared  it  was 
merely  the  wrath  of  their  gods  at  the  people  for  turning 
away  from  their  ancient  creed.  "  But  what,"  says  Snorro 
Goda,  a  Christian,  "  were  the  gods  angry  at,  when  the  very 
rocks  where  we  stand,  hundreds  of  years  ago,  were  melted 
lava  ? "  The  question  was  unanswerable,  the  Christians 
triumphed,  and  laws  were  immediately  passed  protecting 
all  in  the  exercise  of  their  religion.  The  ecclesiastical 
courts  were  afterwards  held  here,  under  the  bishop  of  Skal- 
holt.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  that  the  people  wept 
when  the  Althing  was  removed  to  Reykjavik.  Hallowed 
by  the  reminiscences  of  the  past,  they  saw  modern  innovation 
and  foreign  customs  break  up  one  of  their  ancient  and 
venerable  institutions.  The  Althing  is  forever  removed : 
their  council  circle  is  now  a  meadow,  and  I  see  oxen, 
sheep,  and  horses  grazing  around  it. 

Captain  Laborde  took  me  slily  by  the  arm,  led  me  one- 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND,  83 

side  to  a  cleft  in  the  lava,  and  waving  his  hand  towards  it, 
said  he  begged  to  have  the  honor  of  introducing  me  to  an 
Iceland  tree.  And  sure  enough  there  it  stood,  green  and 
flourishing,  but  of  such  dimensions  that,  had  I  not  been  in 
aware  I  was  in  Iceland,  I  should  have  been  irreverent 
enough  to  have  called  it  a  mere  shrub,  a  bush,  or  perhaps 
a  bramble.  I  find  I  was  very  rash  in  pronouncing  the 
opinion  which  I  did,  that  the  bush,  some  five  feet  in  height, 
that  I  saw  in  the  governor's  garden  was  probably  the 
largest  tree  in  Iceland.  Now,  here  was  one  towering  alone 
in  the  majesty  of  luxuriant  nature,  at  least  six  feet  perpen- 
dicular ;  and  were  the  various  crooks  and  bends  that  adorn 
its  trunk,  straightened  out,  I  have  no  doubt  but  it  would 
be  nine  or  ten  inches  higher.  I  took  off  my  hat,  and  made 
a  low  bow  to  it.  In  a  meadow  near  the  house,  was  a  rather 
novel  sight — two  girls  milking  the  ewes.  Here,  as  else- 
where, we  were  furnished  with  excellent  milk  and  cream. 
Many  a  bowl  of  rich  milk  have  I  drank  in  this  country,  and 
never  asked  where  the  article  came  from.  After  riding  all 
day,  and  at  night  going  up  to  a  farm-house,  half  exhausted 
with  hunger  and  thirst,  and  getting  what  would  quench  it, 
I  have  found  something  else  to  think  of  besides  letting  my 
fancy  go  wool-gathering  among  snowy  fleeces,  and  bleating 
lambs  that  go  without  their  supper.  When  a  man  leaves 
his  own  fireside  and  country,  and  goes  abroad,  he  has  no 
business  to  take  all  of  his  prejudices  and  fastidiousness 
along  with  him.* 

*  I  have  since  learned  that  the  milk  used  in  Iceland  is  cows' 
milk,  and  that  the  milk  of  the  ewes  is  made  into  cheese. 


84  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND, 

With  the  new  hay  for  a  bed,  our  blankets  spread 
over  us,  and  our  saddles  for  pillows,  we  enjoyed  a  most 
refreshing  sfeep.  At  breakfast  this  morning,  the  clergy- 
man-farmer's dairy  and  fishing-boat  were  again  laid  under 
contribution.  A  large  raven,  one  of  a  pair  we  had  noticed 
frequently,  flew  slowly  up  towards  our  tent,  apparently 
looking  for  something  to  break  his  fast.  Our  fowler 
saluted  him  with  a  charge  of  fine  shot,  that  sent  him 
off  at  a  tangent,  and  left  him  minus  some  of  his  feathers. 
A  word  touching  these  ravens  hereafter.  They  are  among 
the  most  ancient  of  the  inhabitants  of  Iceland. 

It  was  with  great  regret  that  I  parted  from  my  most 
agreeable  and  intelligent  company — but  separate  we  must. 
The  French  officers,  Rector  Johnson,  and  the  others,  pre- 
pared to  return  to  Reykjavik,  and  I  to  go  towards  the  east, 
on  a  tour  of  several  hundred  miles  in  the  interior.  They 
would  gladly  have  continued  with  me  as  far  as  the  Geysers, 
but  for  some  good  and  weighty  reasons.  One  was,  they 
had  no  guide  to  return  with  them  who  understood  the 
road,  and  mine  must  go  on  with  me.  Another  reason  was, 
we  had  all  made  such  terrible  havoc  with  their  provision 
chest,  that  the  remainder  would  scarcely  have  stood  before 
a  Captain  Dugald  Dalgetty  for  a  day's  campaign.  Then, 
too,  fishing-ponds  ten  miles  long  and  a  thousand  feet  deep, 
and  yielding  trout  by  the  boat-load,  are  not  to  be  found  in 
every  valley,  even  in  Iceland.  So  a  hearty  shaking  of 
hands,  and  a  buckling  of  girths,  and  we  were  once  more  in 
our  saddles  ;  they  returning  to  town,  and  I  and  my  guide, 
with  faces  towards  the  rising  sun,  going  to  see  those 
wonders  of  nature — the  great  Geysers  of  Iceland, 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

You  know  I  pique  myself  upon  orthography, 
Statistics,  tactics,  politics,  and  geography." 

We  shall  climb  over  the  mountains  and  their  hard 
names,  and  gallop  through  the  valleys  a  little  more 
smoothly,  if  we  look  at  the  spelling,  pronunciation,  and 
meaning  of  some  of  the  Icelandic  terms.  A  great  appro- 
priateness will  be  seen  in  nearly  all  the  geographical  names 
in  Iceland.  By  translating  the  language,  we  shall  see  some 
characteristic  feature  embodied  in  the  name  of  about  every 
place,  river,  lake,  mountain,  bay,  and  island  in  the  country. 
The  explanation  of  a  few  Icelandic  words  will  show  the 
signification  of  many  of  the  names  that  I  shall  have 
occasion  to  mention.  The  letter  a  (pronounced  ow)  signi- 
fies river,  and  is  the  last  letter  in  the  names  of  Icelandic 
rivers.  Bru  is  a  bridge,  hence  bruara,  or  bridge  river. 
ttvit  is  white ;  vatn,  water  or  lake ;  hviid,  white  river ;  hvit- 
arvatn,  white  lake.  Hver  is  a  hot  spring ;  laug  (pronounced 
tage),  a  warm  spring,  and  dalr,  a  dale  or  vale.  There  is  a 
valley  north  of  Hekla,  known  as  Laugardatr,  or  vale  of 
warm  springs.  The  Icelanders  pronounce  double  I  at  the 
end  of  words,  like  tl.  They  have  a  distinct  name  for  each 
description  of  mountain.  JoTcull  (pronounced  yo-Jcut-l ;  or, 
spoken  rapidly  as  the  Icelanders  speakj  it  sounds  about  like 


86  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

yo-hul)  is  the  term  used  to  designate  mountains  that  are 
covered  with  perpetual  ice.  Fell,  fjall,  and  fjoll  (pro- 
nounced fee-et-l,  fee-aht-l,  and  fee-ote-T),  all  signify  moun- 
tains, but  fell  is  applied  to  single  peaks,  to  small  and 
isolated  mountains,  and  fjall  and  fjoll  to  large  mountains, 
or  chains  of  mountains.  JBla  is  blue  ;  snce,  snow ;  and  we 
have  blafell,  or  a  blue  mountain  standing  alone — an 
isolated  peak  in  the  middle  of  a  plain.  A  celebrated 
mountain  in  the  west  of  Iceland,  is  Sncefell  Johull  (snef-el 
yo-hul),  a  snowy  mountain,  standing  alone,  and  covered  with 
perpetual  ice ;  and  in  the  comprehensive  language  of  the 
Icelanders,  it  is  all  expressed  in  two  words.  Oroefa  signifies 
desert  or  sandy  plain,  and  torf  is  turf  or  peat.  There  are 
two  mountains,  Oroefa  Johull  and  Torfa  Johull ;  one 
standing  in  a  desert,  and  the  other  in  a  large  peat  district. 
One  portion  of  the  immense  mountain,  the  Skaptar  Jokull, 
is  known  as  Vatna  Johull,  as  it  is  supposed  to  contain,  on 
a  portion  of  its  surface,  large  pools  of  standing  water.  The 
points  of  compass  are,  north,  suth,  oest,  and  vest.  Eyjar 
signifies  islands.  South  of  Hekla  is  a  lofty  and  celebrated 
mountain  known  as  the  JEyjafjalla  Johull.  To  an  English 
reader,  unacquainted  with  the  Icelandic,  ^it  is  a  crooked- 
looking  mouthful ;  but  on  the  tongue  of  an  Icelander, 
it  flows  off,  a  round,  smooth,  sonorous  term.  They  call  it 
i-SL-fQ-aht-lsi  yo-kull.  It  defines  itself  as  ice  mountain  of 
islands,  having  numerous  knobs  or  peaks  that  stand  up 
like  islands  in  the  sea.  Many  Icelandic  words  are  identical 
with  the  English,  and  many  others  nearly  so.  It  remains 
for  some  future  lexicographer  to  show  the  great  number  of 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  87 

English  words  that  are  derived  from  the  Icelandic.  The 
points  of  compass  have  been  noticed  ;  a  few  more  examples 
will  suffice.  Hestr  is  a  horse ;  holt,  a  hill ;  hus,  a  house  ; 
hval,  a  whale ;  lang,  long  ;  men,  men ;  mann,  man ;  sandr, 
sand  ;  sitha,  the  side ;  gerthi,  a  garden  ;  litil,  little ;  miJcla, 
large  (Scottish,  muckle) ;  myri,  a  bog  or  miry  place ; 
fjorth,  is  a  firth  or  bay ;  JcirJcja,  a  church ;  prestur,  a 
priest;  morgun,  morning;  ux,  ox;  daga,  days.  "July, 
or  midsummer  month,"  stands  literally  in  Icelandic,  Julius 
etha  mithsumar-manuthur.  J,  at  the  beginning  of  words 
and  syllables  in  the  Icelandic,  is  pronounced  like  y  con- 
sonant, and  in  the  middle  of  a  syllable,  like  i  or  long  e, 

Their  affirmative  yes,  is  fa  (pronounced  yow),  and  their 
no  is  nei  (nay).  •  Their  counting  is  much  like  ours  :  einn 
(1),  tveir  (2),  thrir  (3),  fjorir  (4),  fimm  (5),  sex  (6),  sjo  (7), 
atta  (8),  niu  (9),  tiu  (10),  ellefu  (11),  tolf  (12),  threttan 
(13),  fjortan  (14),  fimmtan  (15),  sextan  (16),  seytjan  (17), 
atjan  (18),  nitjan  (19),  tuttugu  (20),  tuttugu  og  einn  (21), 
thrjatiu  (30),  fiorutiu  (40),  fimmtiu  (50),  sextiu  (60), 
sjotiu  (70),  attatiu  (80),  niutiu  (90),  hundrath  (100),  fimm 
hundrath  (500),  thusund  (1000).  The  date  1851,  in  words, 
would  be:  einn  thusund  atta  hundrath  fimmtiu  og  einn. 
This  list  might  be  extended  to  great  length,  showing  the 
similarity  between  the  Icelandic  and  the  English  ;  bu*t 
these  examples  are  sufficient  for  my  purpose. 

I  have  a  few  words  for  my  friends  the  geographers, 
who,  in  their  anxiety  to  Anglicize  geographical  names, 
so  completely  change  them  that  the  natives  of  a  country 
would  not  recognize  their  own  rivers  and  mountains  when 


88  RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND* 

once  disguised  in  an  English  dress.  The  Icelandic  is  the 
only  one  of  the  old  Scandinavian  tongues  that  has  the 
sound  of  th  ;  and  they  have  two  different  letters,  one  to 
represent  th  in  thank,  and  the  other  the  th  as  heard  in 
this.  The  latter  sound  is  heard  in  fiorth  and  in  north* — 
different  from  our  pronunciation  of  north;  and  as  the 
letter  representing  this  sound  of  th  is  a  character  that 
some  resembles  the  letter  d,  we  find  the  above  words 
written  and  printed  by  the  English  as  fiord  and  nord. 
With  the  Danes  and  Swedes,  who  have  neither  the  sounds 
nor  the  letters,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  they  use  d 
or  t  for  these  sounds.  I  shall  give  the  Icelandic  names  in 
their  native  spelling,  as  near  as  possible,  with  perhaps  the 
exception  of  the  name  of  the  country, — which  they  write 
Island,  b.ut  now  with  us  is  thoroughly  Anglicized  as 
Iceland.  They  pronounce  it  ees-land,  the  a  in  the  last 
syllable  rather  broad.  I  see  no  particular  objection  to 
using  y  for  j  in  jokull,  as  it  has  that  sound  ;  or  in  substi- 
tuting i  for  the  same  letter  mfjorth,  Reykjavik,  J&yjafjalla, 
and  similar  cases.  I  will,  however,  protest  against  an 
Icelandic  Thane  being  turned  into  a  Dane,  without  as 
much  as  saying,  "  By  your  leave,  sir,"  or  ever  asking  him 
if  he  washed  to  change  his  allegiance. 

If  this  chapter  is  dry  and  technical,  it  has  at  least  the 
merit  of  brevity. 

*  Icelandic  ;  fiorfc,  nor$. 


CHAPTER    YII 


"  And  yet  but  lately  there  was  seen  e'en  here, 
The  winter  in  a  lovely  dress  appear." 

Phillips. 


On  a  bright  and  beautiful  morning,  as  my  agreeable 
company  of  the  day  previous  disappeared  behind  the  walls 
of  the  Almannagja,  my  small  party  turned  towards  the  east, 
the  bridle-path  leading  through  a  forest  several  miles  in 
extent.  Before  getting  into  the  thickest  of  the  wood,  we 
found  the  ground  covered  with  immense  rocks  of  lava,  and 
look  which  way  we  would,  except  a  few  feet  of  the  path 
directly  before  us,  the  country  appeared  quite  impassable. 
It  may  excite  a  smile  to  talk  of  a  forest,  with  the  largest 
trees  but  six  or  seven  feet  high;  but  these  patches  of 
shrubbery  dispersed  over  Iceland,  are  of  great  value  to  the 
people.  They  are  composed  principally  of  birch  and 
willow.  Though  nothing  but  scraggy  brush,  it  is  used 
to  make  roofs  to  their  houses,  and  much  of  it  is  burned 
into  charcoal  for  their  blacksmithing.  I  have  seen  one  of 
their  coalpits  where  they  were  burning  charcoal,  and  a 
bushel  basket  would  have  nearly  covered  it.  Attached  to 
every  farm-house  is  a  "  smithy,"  where  scythes,  pitchforks, 
spades,  horse-shoes,  and  other  articles,  are  made.  Every 
man  is  a  blacksmith ;  and  some  travelers  have  asserted 
5 


90  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

that  the  clergy  are  the  best  shoers  of  horses  in  the  land. 
A  Gretna  Green  blacksmith  will  answer  in  case  of  emer- 
gency for  a  clergyman ;  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie,  while 
traveling  here,  had  his  horse  shod  several  times  by  Iceland 
priests.  I  have  not  yet  had  an  opportunity  of  testing  the 
skill  of  one  of  these  clerical  blacksmiths.  They  have, 
at  least,  a  poetical  license  for  practising  the  two  trades ; 
though  perhaps  they  do  not  put  the  shoe  on  the  horse  as 
much  as  formerly,  but 


grown  more  holy, 


Just  like  the  very  Reverend  Rowley  Powley, 
Who  shoes  the  glorious  animal  with  stilts, — 
A  modern  Ancient  Pistol,  by  the  hilts  !" 

We  crossed  one  of  those  deep  chasms  or  cracks  in  the 
lava,  so  common  in  volcanic  regions.  Here  a  natural 
bridge  of  lava  was  left,  apparently  on  purpose  for  a  road 
across  it.  While  riding  along  in  this  miniature  forest, 
a  large  flock  or  brood  of  ptarmigans  flew  up  before  us. 
This,  one  of  the  fine  game-birds  of  the  mountainous  parts 
of  Scotland,  is  very  common  in  Iceland.  From  being  long 
out  of  the  habit  of  shooting,  I  believe  the  murderous 
propensities  bred  in  my  youth — with  "  dad's  old  musket " — 
have  pretty  nearly  all  evaporated.  And  why  should  I 
regret  it?  A  more  cheerful  or  happy  sight  than  flocks 
of  beautiful  birds,  young  and  old,  cannot  be  seen*  Then 
see  the  terrible  contrast  of  "  sulphurous  smoke  and  dread- 
ful slaughter,"  that  follows  the  "fowler's  murder-aiming 
eye,"  and  all  for  "sport."     The  ptarmigan,  I  believe,  is 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND.  91 

Seldom  found  in  America.  It  is  about  the  size  of  the 
partridge  of  the  State  of  New  York,  a  greyish  brown 
in  summer,  and  turning  quite  white  in  winter.  The  Ice- 
landers call  this  bird  the  reaper.  Had  they  game  laws 
here — and  thank  heaven  they  don't  require  them — it 
would  not  be  permitted  to  shoot  this  bird  at  this  season. 
The  young  in  this  flock,  though  able  to  fly  short  distances, 
were  not  over  half  grown.  I  have  a  bit  of  a  confession  to 
make,  and  I  may  as  well  make  it  now.  The  day  that 
I  was  traveling  was  Sunday!  I  met  several  parties  of 
Icelanders,  traveling  also ;  the  immediate  object  of  our 
journeying  being  different :  they  were  going  to  church, 
and  I  was  going  to  see  the  Geysers.  The  parties  I  met 
were  going  towards  the  Thingvalla  church,  and  had  on 
their  Sunday's  best.  They  were  all  on  horseback,  the 
universal  way  of  traveling  in  this  country.  Indeed,  indeed, 
it  was  very  queer,  the  riding  of  the  young  Icelandic  ladies. 
These  pretty  damsels  rode  just  like  their  brothers.  My 
pen  refuses  a  more  elaborate  and  bifurcated  description. 
The  matrons  all  had  a  very  convenient  kind  of  side-saddle. 
It  was  like  an  arm-chair,  the  back  and  arms  forming  part 
of  a  circle,  all  in  one  piece.  The  dame  rides  exactly 
sideways,  at  a  right  angle  with  her  horse,  her  feet  placed 
on  a  sort  of  wooden  step.  The  saddle  must  be  pretty 
heavy,  but  the  little  animals  and  their  riders  seemed  to  get 
along  very  well.  There  was  nothing  peculiar  about  the 
costume  of  the  females,  except  the  little  black  caps  with 
long  silk  tassels,  universally  worn  in  Iceland,  in  doors  and 
out,  in  place  of  any  other  cap  or  bonnet. 


92  RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND. 

We  journeyed  towards  the  south,  skirting  the  shore 
of  the  lake  some  five  miles,  and  then  turned  to  the  east, 
climbing  a  sharp  and  steep  mountain,  but  not  of  great 
height.  From  the  top  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country,  and  to  the  west,  the  broad  lake,  the 
"Thingvalla  vatn."  Across  the  lake,  some  ten  miles 
distant — though,  from  the  magical  purity  of  the  atmos- 
phere, it  seemed  but  a  stone's  throw — was  a  range  of 
mountains,  sloping  down  to  the  water's  edge,  with  patches 
of  snow  on  their  sides.  Directly  beneath  us,  at  the  foot  of 
the  mountain,  lay  the  lake  with  its  myriads  of  trout,  and 
its  water  a  thousand  feet  deep.  Two  abrupt  islands  rise 
high  above  the  surface.  They  are  mere  hills  of  lava  and 
volcanic  matter,  without  a  particle  of  vegetation.  They 
are  called  Sandey  and  Nesey.  We  traveled  some  little 
distance  on  the  broad,  flat  surface  of  the  mountain,  and 
crossed — by  descending  into  it — one  of  the  deep  lava 
chasms.  We  did  not  descend,  in  going  down  the  moun- 
tain to  the  east,  as  much  as  wo  had  ascended ;  but  found 
it  spread  itself  out  into  a  broad  table-land,  a  number 
of  hundred  feet  higher  than  the  lake.  With  long  ranges 
of  mountains  before  us,  we  traveled  several  miles  over  a 
most  desolate  volcanic  region,  completely  covered  with 
lava  rocks,  scoria?,  and  volcanic  sand.  Like  all  the  lava- 
covered  country,  it  was  broken  up  in  huge,  irregular 
masses,  and  very  cavernous,  in  some  places  showing  caves 
thirty  or  forty  feet  deep.  No  description  or  picture  will 
give  a  good  idea  of  the  old  lava  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground,  to  a  person  who  has  never  been  in  a  volcanic 


RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND,  93 

country.  Not  the  roughest  lime-stone  region  I  have  ever 
seen  will  bear  the  slightest  comparison  with  the  lava- 
covered  districts — near  two-thirds  of  the  surface — of  Ice- 
land. In  written  descriptions  of  volcanic  regions,  we  often 
see  mention  made  of  "streams  of  lava."  These  streams 
in  other  countries  are  usually  down  the  sides  of  mountains, 
but  here  in  Iceland  they  extend  for  miles  along  the  surface 
of  the  level  ground,  and  we  are  puzzled  to  know  where  it 
came  from,  for  usually  we  see  no  crater  or  mountain  any- 
where near.  I  have  seen  these  "  streams  "  standing  up  in 
bold  relief,  a  black,  rough,  horrid  mass,  from  ten  to  a 
hundred  feet  deep,  several  hundred  yards  wide,  and  one  or 
two  miles  in  length.  Brydone,  in  his  observations  of  Mt. 
./Etna,  pulled  all  the  old  theologians  about  his  ears  by 
making  a  calculation  respecting  the  age  of  the  lava,  and 
proving  conclusively — to  himself — that  some  of  the  lava 
streams  from  JEtna  were  fourteen  thousand  years  old. 
I  believe,  however,  that  philosophers  have  to  own  them- 
selves baffled  in  trying  to  get  at  the  age  of  lava.  After 
cooling — which  often  takes  some  years — and  breaking  up 
by  the  expansion  of  the  air  in  it,  the  lava  is  usually  nearly 
or  quite  black.  After  several  hundred  years  it  turns  a 
little  more  towards  a  brown,  or  rather  gets  grey  with  age, 
and  is  covered  with  a  very  slight  coating  of  one  of  the  most 
inferior  of  the  mosses.  Very  old  lava  often  gets  quite 
rotten,  light,  and  porous,  and  in  this  state  is  frequently 
very  red.  Take  a  thick  piece  of  zinc  and  break  it  with  a 
hammer,  and  you  will  have  a  rough  surface  that,  multiplied 
ten  thousand  times,  will  give  some  idea  of  a  stream  of  lava. 


94  RAMBLES   IN  ICELAND. 

The  word  "  horrible,"  both  in  the  Icelandic  and  in  English 
descriptions,  is  often  and  most  appropriately  applied  to  the 
fields  of  lava. 

As  we  traveled  east  and  approached  nearer  and  nearer 
the  range  of  mountains,  the  way  became  much  smoother 
till  we  found  ourselves  on  a  plain  of  black,  volcanic 
sand.  Near  the  base  of  the  mountain  range  before  us, 
the  guide  took  me  aside  a  hundred  yards  or  so  to  see  a 
curious  volcanic  crater  called  the  Tin  Tron.  It  stands  near 
twenty  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  like  a  chimney, 
but  on  climbing  up  the  side  of  it  and  looking  down  into  it, 
it  appears  like  a  well,  but  the  cavity  grows  much  wider 
below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  On  throwing  in  a  stone, 
after  a  little  period,  it  quashed  in  a  bed  of  water,  seemingly 
some  fifty  feet  below  where  we  stood.  One  side  of  it  was 
partly  broken  away,  so  we  did  not  have  to  climb  clear  to 
the  top  of  it  to  look  down  the  aperture.  I  broke  off  some 
pieces  of  lava  from  the  top  of  the  crater  with  my  hands, 
and  found  it  very  soft,  light,  and  porous.  This  lava  was  a 
beautiful  purple,  and  some  of  it  a  bright  red  color.  I 
brought  away  several  samples.  We  wound  round  the 
mountain  and  descended  into  a  broad  and  fertile  valley 
called  the  "  Laugardalr"  or  vale  of  warm  springs.  Broad 
meadows  surrounded  us,  and  we  could  see  the  steam  rising 
from  numerous  hot  springs  in  the  distance.  This  valley 
appeared  like  an  immense  amphitheatre  surrounded  by 
mountains.  I  know  not  that  a  painter  could  make  much  of 
it,  but  the  Laugardalr  is  a  fine  landscape.  It  is  not  like  a 
vale  in  Derbyshire,  or  a  country  scene  on  the  banks  of  the 


RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND-  95 

Connecticut.  No  forests,  no  grain  fields,  orchards,  fences, 
or  houses,  and  yet  it  is  a  scene  of  great  interest,  and  not 
easily  forgotten. 

I  had  plenty  of  time,  as  we  wound  our  way  slowly 
down  the  hillside  from  the  elevated  table  land,  and  an 
opportunity  to  observe  the  peculiarities  of  the  country. 
Certain  little  green  hillocks  to  my  now  more  practised  eye 
showed  themselves  to  me  as  habitations.  To  the  left  lay  a 
smooth  lake,  and  in  bright  lines  through  the  green  meadow 
land  were  several  white  looking  rivers.  On  every  side 
were  high  mountains,  many  of  them  covered  on  the  tops 
with  snow.  Here  I  got  the  first  view  of  Hekla,  though 
more  than  forty  miles  distant.  It  was  black  nearly  to  the 
top,  where  were  some  small  snow  banks.  This  valley, 
including  much  that  is  beyond  the  Laugardalr,  is  one  of 
the  most  extensive  and  fertile  farming  districts  in  Iceland. 
It  extends  nearly  one  hundred  miles  south  to  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  and  is  bounded  on  the  east  and  southeast  by  Mt. 
Hekla  and  the  Tindfjalla  and  Eyjafjalla  Jokulls.  This 
tract  of  country  is  watered  by  Iceland's  largest  rivers ;  the 
Hvita  or  White  river,  the  Briiara,  the  Tungufljot,  the 
Laxa,  and  the  Thjorsa. 

We  stopped  near  the  first  farm-house,  and  had  the 
saddles  taken  off,  that  the  ponies  could  recruit  a  little  on 
the  fine  meadow  grass,  while  we  went  through  that  very 
necessary  daily  ceremony  of  dining.  The  farmer  sent  me 
out  some  excellent  milk  in  a  Staffordshire  bowl,  and  soon 
after  he  and  his  wife  and  daughter  came  out  to  see  me 
hide  it  under  my  jacket.     Madame  Pfeiffer,  in  her  snarling, 


#q  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

ill-tempered  journal,  complains  greatly  of  the  idle  curiosity 
of  trie  people  in  crowding  about  and  looking  at  her.  From 
what  I  heard  of  her,  she  was  so  haughty  that  the  simple 
and  hospitable  Icelanders  could  not  approach  her  near 
enough  to  show  her  any  attentions.  I  exhausted  my  little 
stock  of  Icelandic  in  talking  with  the  farmer,  praised  his 
farm,  his  cows,  the  milk,  his  country,  his  wife  and  daughter, 
called  the  latter  handsome— " fallegh,  stulkey" — what  a 
lie ! — and  giving  him  a  piece  of  silver,  which  he  seemed  to 
like  better  than  all  the  "fair  words" — "butter  without 
parsneps" — and,  jumping  into  our  saddles,  away  we  went. 

We  passed  near  the  small  lake,  the  Laugarvatn,  and 
saw  the  steam  rising  from  the  hot  springs  near  it,  but 
being  out  of  our  way  we  did  not  visit  them.  Several  hot 
springs  have  their  source  in  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  and 
only  reveal  their  existence  by  the  steam  that  rises  from  the 
surface  of  the  water.  We  got  into  a  fine  road  in  a  large 
meadow  or  bottom  land,  and  I  was  having  a  fine  gallop 
across  the  plain,  when  the  guide  called  to  me  to  turn  aside. 
I  was  greatly  provoked  on  his  taking  me  a  mile  out  of 
the  way  to  show  me  a  cave  in  the  hill  side,  which  he 
semed  to  think  was  a  great  curiosity.  This  wonderful 
cavern  was  about  twenty  feet  deep  !  I  "  blowed  him  up" 
well  for  a  stupid  fellow,  and  told  him  he  need  not  show  a 
cave  like  that  to  an  American,  for  we  had  caves  that 
extended  under  ground  farther  than  from  there  to  the 
Geysers — some  ten  miles  ahead — and  cared  very  little  for 
such  a  fox  burrow  as  that.  He  said  he  showed  it  to 
English  gentlemen,  and  they  thought  it  very  grand  !     Well, 


RAMBLES  IN  ICELAND.  9T 

I  told  him,  he  might  show  it  to  English  gentlemen,  but  he 
better  not  to  Yankees,  if  he  consulted  his  reputation  as  a 
guide.  Rising  a  hill  we  saw  to  our  right  another  lake,  the 
Apavatn.  We  crossed  the  Bruara  or  Bridge  river,  the  only 
liver  in  Iceland — with  one  exception,  the  Jokulsa,  in  the 
east  country — that  has  a  bridge  over  it.  This  bridge  does 
not  span  the  river  by  any  means,  but  it  merely  crosses  a 
chasm  or  deep  place  in  the  middle  of  the  stream.  Our 
horses  waded  over  the  rocky  bottom  and  shallow  water 
forty  or  fifty  yards,  when  we  came  to  a  deep  chasm,  perhaps 
ten  yards  across,  and  over  this  a  slight  wooden  structure, 
about  six  feet  wide,  was  thrown.  In  this  chasm  the  water 
is  a  most  furious  torrent,  roaring  some  fifty  feet  below  the 
bridge.  Our  horses  were  some  frightened,  and  required 
considerable  urging  to  get  them  to  cross  the  frail  bridge. 
The  chasm  commences  but  a  little  way  up  the  river  from  the 
bridge,  and  there  the  greatest  share  of  the  water  in  the 
river  pours  into  it,  forming  a  furious  and  singular  cataract. 
I  stopped  my  horse  a  few  moments  on  the  bridge,  and  looked 
at  the  angry  torrent  as  it  rushed  beneath  me.  The  water, 
except  where  broken  into  foam,  has  a  deep  green  appearance. 
On  the  road  from  Thingvalla  to  the  Geysers,  nearly  all  the 
way,  we  had  mountains  on  our  left,  and  fine  fertile  meadows 
on  the  right,  towards  the  south.  A  great  deal  of  the  way, 
a  ridge  of  lava  extends  along  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and 
sometimes,  for  a  long  distance,  I  noticed  a  strip  of  fine 
meadow  land  between  the  foot  of  the  mountain  and  this 
ridge  of  lava,  the  meadow  as  well  as  the  strip  of  lava  being 
several  hundred  yards  wide.  How  this  came  to  be  so  I 
5* 


98  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

could  not  tell,  unless  it  happened  that,  after  the  last  eruption 
of  lava,  large  quantities  of  ashes  were  thrown  out  of  the 
mountain,  covering  the  lava  for  some  distance  from  its  base , 
and  thus  forming  a  coat  of  soil  where  now  the  green 
meadow  is  seen.  As  I  have  mentioned  before,  nearly  every 
foot  of  land  in  Iceland  shows  proofs  of  volcanic  origin,  and, 
without  doubt,  the  entire  island  was  formed  by  volcanic 
action.  At  whatever  period  that  took  place,  if  mortal  man 
could  have  seen  it,  there  would  have  been  a  picture  of  the 
power  of  the  Almighty  most  awful  to  behold.  What  a  scene ! 
A  tract  of  land  forty  thousand  square  miles  in  extent, 
rising  amidst  fire  and  smoke  and  earthquakes,  from  the 
bottom  of  the  ocean.  The  proofs  of  subterranean  fire 
shown  at  the  present  day,  in  the  occasional  action  of  the 
volcanoes,  and  constant  spouting  of  numerous  geysers  and 
hot  springs  of  water  and  boiling  mud,  exhibit  scenes  of 
sublimity  and  grandeur  unequaled  on  the  face  of  the 
globe. 

Crossing  a  high  ridge  of  lava  and  winding  around  the 
Bjarnarfell  mountain,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Geysers,  with 
the  clouds  of  steam  rising  up,  at  the  base  of  a  hill  about 
three  miles  from  us.  We  crossed  some  small  streams  that 
came  from  the  Geysers,  and  observed  that  the  waters  were 
covered  with  a  gilded  kind  of  metallic  lustre,  such  as  we  often 
see  in  stagnant  pools.  This  arose,  undoubtedly,  from  some 
metallic  property  in  the  water  itself.  Shakspeare,  whose  eye 
never  missed  an  appearance  of  nature,  usual  or  unusual, 
observed  this.  In  Antony  and  Cleopatra,  a  man  had  been 
off  on   some   expedition,  and   had    no   doubt  "  seen  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  99 

elephant "  somewhere  on  his  route,  for  on  his  return  one  of 
his  comrades  said  to  him, 

"thou  didst  drink  the  gilded  puddle 

That  beasts  would  cough  at." 

These  waters  are  very  good  for  immersion,  if  one  wants  an 
outward  application  in  the  shape  of  a  hot  bath,  but  I  think 
for  drinking  I  would  imbibe  the  "  gilded  puddle  "  in  War- 
wickshire rather  than  suck  the  slimy  waters  that  flow  from 
the  Geysers.  Eager  to  see  these  wonders  of  nature,  I 
spurred  my  pony  up  to  the  margin  of  the  basin  of  the  Great 
Geyser,  and,  though  in  a  quiescent  state,  I  shall  never  forget 
its  appearance  while  memory  holds  her  seat  in  my  brain. 
The  guide  soon  led  the  way  to  the  farmhouse  and  church 
of  Haukadalr,  nearly  a  mile  to  the  east,  where  we  were  to 
pass  the  night.  A  drizzling  rain  had  been  falling;  I  was 
wet,  and  greatly  fatigued  by  the  unusual  exercise  of  riding 
on  horseback,  and  glad  to  get  some  rest,  and  defer  my 
examination  of  the  place  and  its  curiosities  until  the  next 
day.  The  farmhouse,  with  its  furniture,  was  better  than  the 
average  in  Iceland,  and  offered  passable  acommodations  for 
a  weary  traveler.  After  a  cup  of  tea,  taken  from  stores  in 
my  own  knapsack,  I  went  to  my  room,  crawled  under  the 
bed,  and  soon  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTEK    VIII. 

"  It  makes  my  blood  boil  like  the  springs  of  Hekla. '' 


Byron. 


Monday,  July  26th,  1852,  I  spent  at  the  Geysers.  They 
rise  out  of  the  ground  near  the  base  of  a  hill  some  three 
hundred  feet  in  height.  Most  of  the  hot  springs  I  have 
seen  in  Iceland  are  at  the  base  of  hills.  The  Geysers  are  on 
ground  that  is  nearly  level,  sloping  a  little  from  the  hill,  and 
cover  fifty  acres  or  more.  The  springs  are  over  one  hun- 
dred in  number,  and  of  every  size  and  form,  sonw  very  large, 
others  small,  scarcely  discharging  any  water  at  all.  The 
Great  Geyser — "  the  Geyser"  par  excellence — attracts  by  far 
the  most  attention,  as  from  its  great  size,  the  quantity  of  wa- 
ter it  discharges,  and  the  magnitude  and  splendor  of  its  erup- 
tions, it  stands  unequaled  in  the  world.  It  is  on  a  little 
eminence  that  it  has  made  for  itself,  a  hollow  rock  or  petri- 
fied mass  that  has  been  formed  by  a  siliceous  deposit  from 
the  water.  On  approaching  the  place,  you  readily  see 
where  the  Great  Geyser  is,  by  its  large  quantity  of  steam. 
I  walked  up  the  margin  of  it,  and  there  it  was,  perfectly 
quiescent,  like  a  sleeping  infant.  It  is  shaped  exactly  like  a 
tea-saucer,  in  appearance  circular,  though  it  is  a  little  ellip- 
tical. By  measurement,  the  larger  diameter  is  fifty-six  feet, 
and  the  smaller  diameter  forty-six  feet.     When  I  arrived  I 


KAMBLEg   IN   ICELAND,  101 

found  this  saucer  or  basin  full  of  hot  water,  as  clear  as  crys- 
tal. The  temperature,  by  Fahrenheit's  thermometer,  was 
209°  above  zero,  only  three  degrees  below  the  boiling  point. 
The  basin  itself  is  four  feet  deep,  and  in  the  centre  there  is  a 
round  hole  or  "  pipe,"  as  it  is  called,  running  down  into  the 
earth  like  a  well.  At  the  top  where  it  opens  into  the  basin, 
this  pipe  is  sixteen  feet  across,  but  a  little  below  the  surface 
it  is  said  to  be  but  ten  feet  in  diameter.  This  pipe  is  round, 
smooth,  and  straight,  and  is  said  by  Sir  George  Mackenzie 
and  others  who  have  measured  it,  to  extend  perpendicularly 
to  a  depth  of  65  feet.  The  rocky  bottom  and  sides  of  the 
basin  and  pipe  are  smooth  and  of  a  light  color,  nearly 
white.  The  quantity  of  steam  that  escaped  from  the  sur- 
face was  considerable,  but  not  nearly  so  great  as  I  should 
suppose  would  come  from  such  a  body  of  hot  water.  Such 
is  the  appearance  of  this  most  remarkable  fountain  while 
still,  and  certainly  it  does  not  look  like  a  violent  or  danger- 
ous pool.  Without  wishing  to  augur  ill  of  it,  certainly  it  is 
a  great  bore.  "When  in  an  active  state,  the  Geyser  is  alto- 
gether a  different  thing.  "When  I  arrived  in  the  evening, 
the  basin  was  not  over  half  full  of  water,  but  the  next  morn- 
ing it  was  full  and  running  over,  though  the  quantity  of 
water  that  flows  from  it  is  not  very  great.  A  slight  rising 
of  the  water,  as  if  boiling,  is  seen  in  the  middle  of  the  basin 
directly  over  the  pipe  when  in  a  quiescent  state.  Now  ar- 
rived at  the  Geyser,  we  must  wait  its  motion,  for  the  erup- 
tions occur  at  very  irregular  intervals,  sometimes  several 
times  a  day,  and  sometimes  but  once  in  two  or  three  days. 
Knowing  that  it  gave  a  warning — by  firing  signal-guns — 


102  JIAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

before  each  eruption,  I   took  the  time  to  go  about  the 
grounds  and  see  what  there  was  to  be  seen.     I  gathered 
some  fine  mineralogical  specimens,  some  beautiful  samples 
of  petrified  peat,  or  turf,  all   roots  and  vegetable   matter 
turned  to  stone.     Fifteen  or  twenty  yards  west  of  the  Gey- 
ser is  a  gully  or  ravine,  with  nearly  perpendicular  sides,  and 
thirty  or  forty  feet  deep.     I  went  down  into  this,  and  found 
a  little  rivulet  of  warm  water,  in  it,  the  banks  being  com- 
posed of  volcanic  matter  and  red  earth.    I  heard  a  gurgling- 
noise  in  the  bank,  and  went  up  to  it,  and  there  was  a  little 
mud  spring  of  blubbering  clay,  hot  and  steaming.     While 
in  this  ravine,  I  heard  a  sudden  noise  of  explosions  like  can- 
non two  or  three  miles  away,  and  yet  it  seemed  to  be  near 
me,  and  under  the  Great  Geyser.     It  was  the  subterranean 
explosions  that  always  precede  an  eruption.     I  ran  up  to 
the  Geyser,  and  saw  the  water  in  a  violent  state  of  agita- 
tion and  boiling,  with  considerable  air  coming  up  out  of  the 
pipe  to  the  surface.     This  was  all ;  only  a  false  alarm,  and 
not  an  eruption.     Off  I  went,  on  another  exploring  expedi- 
tion about  the  grounds.     I  heard  a  violent  gurgling  up  to- 
wards the  foot  of  the  hill  to  the  west,  and  went  to  see  the 
cause  of  it.      About   150  yards  frqm  the  Great  Geyser  I 
found  a  jet  of  steam  coming  out  of  a  hole  in  the  ground, 
and  down  out  of  sight  I  could  hear  mud  boiling  and  sputter- 
ing violently.    I  noticed  here  what  I  had  heard  was  a  charac- 
teristic of  the  hot  springs  of  Iceland,  deposits  of  clay  of 
different  colors  and  of  great  beauty.     It  was  moist,  in  a  state 
somewhat  like  putty,  and  lying  in  layers,  in  several  distinct 
colors,     Red,  blue,  and  white  were  the  prevailing  tints,    It 


11AMBLES   IN   ICELAND.  103 

was  most  fine-grained  and  beautiful,  and  I  could  not  help 
thinking  would  be  of  considerable  value  as  paints,  if  it 
were  collected.  I  gathered  some  of  it,  but  in  the  absence 
of  proper  things  to  carry  it  in,  and  the  long  journey  before 
me,  I  reluctantly  left  the  samples  behind.  About  140  yards 
southwest  of  the  Great  Geyser  I  came  upon  two  deep 
springs  or  pools  of  clear  water,  hissing  hot  and  steaming. 
These  pools  appeared  two  springs  of  irregular  outline,  each 
from  10  to  15  feet  across,  and  nearly  or  quite  30  feet  deep. 
The  water  was  so  clear  I  could  see  directly  to  the  bottom. 
A  narrow,  rocky  boundary  separated  the  two.  This  bound- 
ary, or  rather  partition,  as  well  as  the  sides  of  the  spring, 
was  apparently  a  silicious  deposit  or  petrifaction  caused  by 
the  water  itself.  On  going  up  near  the  margin,  and  walk- 
ing round  on  every  side,  I  noticed  that  the  earth  or  rock 
overhung  the  springs  on  all  sides,  so  I  could  see  directly 
under,  and  the  crust  near  the  margin  was  very  thin,  giving 
it  a  most  awful  appearance.  If  one  should  approach  too 
near  the  margin,  and  it  should  break  off,  down  he  would  go 
to  inevitable  death  in  the  seething  cauldron.  It  is  said,  if  a 
man  is  born  to  be  hanged  he  can  never  be  drowned.  Of 
course  a  like  immunity  attends  such  a  man  if  he  is  in  danger 
of  being  boiled !  I  should  rather  meet  the  fate  of  Empedo- 
cles,  and  save  my  boots !  A  person  might  very  easily  run 
splash  into  these  springs,  or  rather  this  double  spring,  for  it  is 
just  even  full  of  water,  and  on  level  ground.  I  did  not  see  it 
till  I  was  just  on  the  margin.  Some  late  traveler  here  said 
his  guide  repeatedly  ran  across  the  narrow  rocky  partition 
that  separated  the  two,     Had  he  fallen  in,  whatever  might 


104  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

be  the  temperature  of  the  future  world  that  he  would  be 
destined  to  go  to,  he  Would  never  require  another  hot  bath 
in  this.  The  guide  now  showed  me  the  Strokr,  or  what  Sir 
John  Stanley  calls  the  New  Geyser.  It  is  a  mere  hole  in 
the  ground,  like  a  well,  without  a  basin  or  raised  margin. 
It  is  nine  feet  in  diameter  at  the  top,  and  gradually  grows 
smaller  to  about  five  feet  in  diameter.  The  Strokr — a  word 
signifying  agitator — is  a  most  singular  spring.  I  looked 
down  into  it,  and  saw  the  water  boiling  violently  about 
twenty  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  is  situated 
131  yards  south  of  the  Great  Geyser.  While  looking  at 
this,  I  heard  a  noise,  and  looking  up  saw  a  burst  of  water 
and  steam  a  little  way  off,  that  the  guide  said  was  the  Little 
Geyser.  It  is  106  yards  south  of  the  Strokr.  I  went  to  it, 
and  found  an  irregular  but  voluminous  burst  of  water,  rising 
with  considerable  noise,  eight  or  ten  feet  high.  It  played 
about  five  minutes,  and  stopped.  I  found  that  it  played  in 
a  similar  way  at  pretty  regular  intervals  of  about  half  an 
hour,  throughout  the  day.  About  noon,  some  two  hours 
after  the  first  alarm,  I  heard  again  the  signal-guns  of  the 
big  Geyser.  The  discharges  were  near  a  dozen,  following 
one  another  in  quick  succession,  sounding  like  the  firing  of 
artillery  at  sea,  at  the  distance  of  two  or  three  miles.  I  ran 
up  to  the  Geyser,  and  saw  the  water  in  a  state  of  violent 
agitation,  and  soon  it  rose  six  or  eight  feet,  in  a  column  or 
mass,  directly  over  the  pipe.  It,  however,  soon  subsided,  and 
the  water  in  the  basin,  from  being  full  and  running  over, 
sank  down  the  pipe  till  the  basin  became  nearly  empty.  I 
was  doomed  to  disappointment  this  time,  there  being  no 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  105 

more  eruption  than  this.  It  was  two  or  three  hours  before 
the  basin  got  full  of  water  again.  About  four  o'clock  I 
heard  the  reports  again,  and  louder  than  before  ;  the  guide 
hallooed  to  me,  and  we  ran  up  near  the  margin  of  the  basin. 
The  explosions  continued,  perhaps,  two  minutes,  the  water 
becoming  greatly  agitated,  filling  the  basin  to  overflowing, 
and  then,  as  if  the  earth  was  opening,  the  fountain  burst 
forth  with  a  shock  that  nearly  threw  me  over.  The  water 
shot  in  one  immense  column  from  the  whole  size  of  the 
pipe,  and  rose  perpendicularly,  separating  a  little  into  dif- 
ferent streams  as  it  ascended.  Such  a  spectacle  no  words 
can  describe.  Its  height,  as  near  as  I  could  judge,  was 
about  70  or  *75  feet.  The  awful  noise,  as  a  renewal  of  the 
forces  kept  the  water  in  play,  seemed  as  if  a  thousand  en- 
gines were  discharging  their  steam-pipes  up  through  a  pool 
of  boiling  water.  Great  quantities  of  steam  accompanied 
it,  bjit  not  enough  to  hide  the  column  of  water.  We  stood 
in  perfect  safety  within  forty  feet  of  the  fountain  all  the 
time  it  was  playing,  which  was  about  six  or  eight  minutes. 
Well  was  it  said  that,  had  Louis  XIV.  of  France  seen  the 
Geysers  of  Iceland,  he  never  would  have  made  the  fount- 
ains of  Versailles.  Compare  the  work  of  man,  when  he 
makes  a  spurting  jet  from  a  pipe  with  a  two  inch  bore,  to  a 
column  of  boiling  water  ten  feet  in  diameter,  and  near  a 
hundred  feet  high,  and  rushing  up  with  the  noise  and  act- 
ual force  of  a  volcano !  Fiddle-de-dee !  As  well  put  a 
boy's  pop-gun  beside  of  one  of  Paixhan's  sixty-four  pound- 
ers. I  had  thought  that  Niagara  Falls  was  the  greatest 
curiosity,  and  Fingal's  Cave,  at  StafTa,  the  most  pleasing  one 


106  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND, 

that  I  had  ever  seen ;  but — though  not  at  all  alike — the 
great  Geyser  of  Iceland,  as  a  marvellous  work  of  nature, 
eclipses  them  both.  Give  a  Barnum  the  power  of  a  Pros- 
pero,  and  let  him  gather  together,  in  one  place,  the  Mam- 
moth Cave  of  Kentucky,  Niagara  Falls,  the  Natural  Bridge 
in  Virginia,  Fingal's  Cave,  and  the  Great  Geyser,  and  get  a 
fence  built  round  -them.  Fury  !  What  a  show-shop  he 
could  open  !  Well,  after  all,  it  is  a  happy  thing  that  the 
great  curiosities  of  the  world  are  pretty  well  distributed  over 
the  earth's  surface.  The  Geyser  played  lower  and  lower, 
and  in  the  course  of  two  or  three  minutes  after  it  began  to 
recede,  had  all  sunk  down  into  the  pipe,  leaving  the  basin 
quite  empty,  and  the  pipe  also  down  for  about  ten  feet. 
This  was  the  first  time  I  had  an  opportunity  of  looking  into 
the  pipe.  The  water  was  scarcely  agitated  at  all,  but  slowly 
rising.  In  the  course  of  two  and  a  half  hours  the  basin  was 
again  full  and  overflowing.  According  to  the  most  reliable 
estimates,  the  maximum  height  of  the  eruptions  of  the  Great 
Geyser  is  from  90  to  100  feet.  Olafsen  and  Povelsen,  two 
Icelandic  writers  who  flourished  near  a  hundred  years  ago, 
estimated  the  height  to  be  360  feet ;  evidently  a  great  ex- 
aggeration. Some  have  attempted  to  prove  by  mathemat- 
ics and  the  law  of  projectiles  that  water  cannot  by  any 
force  or  power  be  thrown  in  a  stream  over  95  or  96  feet  high. 
Fire-engines  disprove  this,  but  at  any  rate  that  seems  to  be 
about  the  height  of  the  highest  jets  of  the  Great  Geyser. 
Sir  John  Stanley,  in  1789,  calculated  the  height  by  a  quad- 
rant, of  the  highest  eruption  that  he  saw,  at  96  feet.  Dr. 
Hooker  estimated  it  at  100,  and  Sir  George  Mackenzie  at 


RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND.  101 

90  feet.  The  first  account  of  these  remarkable  fountains 
dates  back  about  600  years.  To  me,  one  of  the  most  re- 
markable  circumstances  connected  with  Iceland  is,  the  con- 
stant and  regular  supply  of  fire  that  keeps  springs  of  water 
at  a  boiling  heat,  and  sends  forth  fountains  with  a  force  be- 
yond all  human  power,  and  with  a  constant  and  unceasing 
regularity,  for  hundreds,  and,  for  aught  we  know  to  the  con- 
trary, for  thousands  of  years.  Whence  is  the  supply  of 
fuel  ?  Why  does  it  not  all  get  consumed  ?  But  a  child 
can  ask  a  question  that  a  man  cannot  answer.  Some  have 
attempted  by  drawings  and  illustrations  to  figure  out  a 
theory  of  pipes,  cavities,  and  conduits  under  the  earth,  that, 
supplied  with  a  constant  stream  of  hot  water,  would  produce 
the  eruptions  that  we  see.  The  great  irregularity  in  time 
and  in  force  seems  to  set  at  naught  the  wisest  calcula- 
tions. We  can  see  the  effect  produced,  and  can  look  on 
and  admire,  but  the  springs  of  action  are  hid  by  the  Al- 
mighty in  the  wonderful  laboratory  of  nature. 

When  the  poet  spoke  of  his  blood  boiling  like  "the 
springs  of  Hekla,"  he  undoubtedy  meant  the  Geysers.  A 
man's  blood  would  be  in  a  state  of  violent  commotion  if  it 
equalled  the  activity  displayed  by  the  Strokr,  or  his 
brother  the  Great  Geyser.  The  Strohr  is  little  less  remark- 
able or  interesting  than  the  Great  Geyser.  Though  of  less 
magnitude,  it  throws  its  stream  of  water  higher,  and  wider 
too,  and  more  varied,  in  consequence  of  its  rather  irregular 
bore.  This  bore,  or  pipe,  is  somewhat  rough  and  a  little 
crooked,  like  the  Irishman's  gun,  made  for  "shooting 
round  a   corner."      One   rule   seems  to  pervade   all  the 


108  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

Geysers  or  shooting  springs  of  Iceland.     The  larger  they 
are,  the  more  seldom  their  eruptions.     The  Great  Geyser, 
from  what  I  can  learn,  does  not  give  one  of  its  highest 
eruptions  oftener  than  once  in  one  or  two  days,  the  Strokr 
once  or  twice  a  day  generally,  and  the  Little  Geyser  every 
thirty  or  forty  minutes.     The  Strokr  can  be  made  to  erupt 
by   throwing   in   stones   or   turf.     The   former  sometimes 
choke  it  up,  but  turf  and  sods  do  not ;  and  moreover  they 
produce  a  fine  effect  by  giving  a  black,  inky  appearance  to 
the  water.     I  had  my  guide  cut  up  a  quantity  of  turf  with 
a  spade,  and,  piling  them  up  on  the  margin,  we  threw 
them — several  bushels  at  a  time — down  the  well  of  the 
Strokr,     They  splashed  in  the  water,  which  was  boiling 
furiously,  as  usual,  about  twenty  feet  below  the  top.     The 
ebullition   nearly  ceased,  and  we  watched  it  with  great 
interest  for  some  little  time,  but  no  eruption  seemed  to 
come  at  the  call  we  had  made.     We  walked  away  a  few 
steps,  thinking  that  this  method  of  producing  an  eruption 
was   not   infallible,  when   suddenly  it   shot  forth  with  a 
tremendous  explosion,  throwing  its  column  of  dirty  water 
an  immense  height.     As  near  as  I  could  judge,  the  water 
ascended  just  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet.     The 
explosive,  or,  rather,  eruptive  force  was  not  quite  as  regular 
as  in  the  Great  Geyser,  but  would  momentarily  slacken, 
and  be  renewed,  the  height  of  the  column  sometimes  not 
being  over  seventy  or  eighty  feet  high.     How  black  and 
inky  the  water  looked !    and  occasionally  pieces  of  turf 
were  seen  flying  high  in  the  air.     I  know  not  how  it  was, 
but  after  the  first  surprise  was  over,  I  had  a  most  irresist- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  109 

ible  propensity  to  laugh;  and,  considering  it  a  very- 
innocent  exercise,  I  indulged  it.  After  playing  about 
fifteen  minutes,  it  began  to  slacken,  and  gradually  settled 
down.  It  took  some  time,  however,  to  get  over  its  "  black 
vomit,"  caused  by  the  turf  and  earth  that  we  administered. 
After  dropping  below  the  surface,  and  sinking  down  into 
the  pipe,  up  'twould  come  again ;  and,  as  the  water  would 
reach  the  surface  of  the  ground,  it  would  seem  to  burst  and 
shoot  not-  only  high  but  wide.  The  falling  water  wet  the 
earth  for  some  twenty  or  thirty  feet  from  the  pipe.  I 
picked  up  some  small  fragments  of  the  grass  turf  that  we 
had  thrown  in,  and  found  them  literally  cooked. 

Some  twenty  years  ago  a  horse  fell  into  one  of  the  mud 
springs  here  at  the  Geysers,  and  never  was  seen  afterwards. 
Poor  pony!  to  be  boiled  in  seething  mud  was  a  worse 
punishment  than  Falstaff  met  with  when  he  was  pitched  into 
Datchett  mead.  In  the  northern  part  of  Iceland,  an  ox  fell 
into  a  Geyser,  and  after  he  was  fairly  cooked  he  was  blown 
out  by  an  eruption.  Whether  he  was  served  up  at  a 
banquet  afterwards,  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn.  The 
pieces  of  turf  that  were  thrown  out  of  the  Strokr  looked 
more  like  pieces  of  seal-skin  than  they  did  like  turf.  It 
wras  enough  to  alter  the  appearance  of  anything,  a  boiling 
of  ten  minutes  in  this  infernal  cauldron.  There  is  a  sin- 
gular cave,  about  a  mile  in  extent,  a  day's  journey  north  of 
Thingvalla,  that  the  Icelanders  call  Surtshellir,  or  Cave  of 
Surtar  (Satan) — in  English,  the  Devil's  Cave.  No  Ice- 
landic guide  will  ever  go  into  it.  When  travelers  explore 
it  they  must  go  alone.    They  believe  it  is  the  habitation  of 


110  RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND. 

his  satanic  majesty ;  and  that  when  he  comes  above 
ground  to  set  the  world  on  fire,  he  will  come  up  out  of  this 
cave.  I  wonder  if  he  don't  come  to  the  Geysers  sometimes 
to  cook  his  dinner.  He  might  indulge  in  what  Pope  calls  a 
feast  of  "infernal  venison."  In  that  case  he  probably 
catches  a  wild  reindeer — of  which  there  are  plenty  in  the 
island — and  bakes  him  on  Mount  Hekla,  instead  of  taking 
the  witty  poet's  bill  of  fare,  "  a  roasted  tiger,  stuffed  with 
tenpenny  nails  " ! 

Though  the  Strohr  plays  once  or  twice  every  day, 
of  its  own  accord,  yet  I  took  a  malicious  pleasure  in 
provoking  it  to  a  "  blow  out ; "  and  a  few  hours  after  the 
first,  I  asked  the  guide  to  give  it  another  dose  of  turf.  He 
looked  into  it,  and  seeing  the  boiling  rather  feeble,  said  it 
was  no  use ;  it  had  not  yet  received  strength  for  another 
effort.  Still  he  tried  it,  and  we  waited  to  see  it  "  go  on  a 
bu'st " !  It  would  not ;  but  about  two  hours  afterwards  it 
exploded,  and  we  saw  another  grand  eruption,  similar 
to  the  first.  Our  sensations  are  altogether  different  in 
looking  at  these  works  of  nature,  from  what  they  are  at 
seeing  an  artificial  fountain,  however  brilliant.  In  the 
latter  case  we  know  the  power  that  propels  the  water,  but 
here  we  look  on  and  wonder  at  the  unseen  power  that  for 
hundreds  of  years  keeps  these  marvellous  fountains  in 
operation.  It  would  be  a  problem  worth  solving  to  see 
how  far  a  shaft  or  excavation  in  the  vicinity  of  those  springs 
could  be  carried  in  a  perpendicular  direction,  before  finding 
water  or  earth  that  should  be  so  hot  as  to  stop  the  progress 
of  the  works.     Hot  springs  are  scattered  all  over  Iceland, 


RAMBLES    IX    ICELAND.  Ill 

to  the  number  of  thousands,  and  at  nearly  every  step  you 
see  lava,  volcanoes,  or  extinct  craters.  Seeing  the  constant 
proofs  of  subterranean  heat,  as  developed  in  the  hot  springs, 
it  cannot  be  doubted  that  heat,  if  not  actual  fire,  would  be 
found  at  a  short  distance  below  the  surface,  in  most  any 
part  of  the  country.  A  truce  to  speculation.  I  hope  the 
day  is  not  far  distant,  when  experiments  and  investigations 
of  a  scientific  character  shall  be  made  by  men  of  learning, 
in  different  parts  of  this  extraordinary  country. 

There  are  two  or  three  farm-houses  in  the  vicinity,  and 
near  one  of  them,  in  a  hot  spring,  I  saw  a  large  iron  kettle 
placed,  and  in  it  were  clothes  boiling.  Indeed,  if  these 
hot  springs  were  movable  property,  would  they  not  be 
worth  something  attached  to  a  large  hotel  or  bathing 
establishment  ?  I  boiled  a  piece  of  meat  for  my  dinner 
in  one  of  the  springs,  and  while  the  culinary  operation 
was  going  on,  I  went  to  a  pool  in  the  brook  that  flows 
from  the  Great  Geyser,  and  had  a  most  delicious  warm 
bath.  'Twas  all  gratis — no  charge  for  heating  the  water. 
The  brooks  that  flow  from  the  Geysers  all  retain  their  heat 
more  or  less  for  several  hundred  yards,  until  they  are 
swallowed  up  in  the  icy  cold  river  into  which  they  empty. 
Some  travelers  have  spoken  of  a  sulphury  taste  to  meat 
boiled  in  the  Geysers,  but  I  did  not  observe  it.  A  good 
many  birds  were  all  day  flying  about  the  Geysers.  They 
were  the  tern  or  sea-swallow,  a  bird  very  common  in 
Iceland,  both  on  the  seashore  and  inland.  The  Icelanders 
call  them  the  cree.  This  bird  is  common  in  England,  but  I 
never  remember  to  have  seen  them  in  America.     What 


112  RAMBLES   IN   ICELAND. 

light,  elegant,  and  graceful  creatures  they  are  on  the  wing ! 
Their  flight  is  as  light  and  easy  as  that  of  the  butterfly ;  in 
motion,  as  swift  as  a  swallow,  and  as  graceful  as  a  seagull. 
They  are  about  the  size  of  the  pigeon,  with  very  long 
wings  and  a  forked  tail,  like  the  barn  swallow.  They  are 
nearly  white,  with  a  slight  blue  shade,  like  the  clear  sky ; 
just  like  that  delicate  cerulean  tinge  that  the  ladies  like  to 
give  their  white  handkerchiefs.  They  kept  up  a  constant 
cry  or  scream  that  was  not  unpleasant,  and  often  flew  so 
near  us  that  I  could  see  their  eyes.  I  climbed  to  the  top 
of  the  hill  that  is  just  west  of  the  Geysers,  and  found 
it  higher  than  I  had  anticipated.  It  looks  low  in  com- 
parison with  the  high  mountain,  the  Bjarnarfell,  that 
is  back  of  it.  It  is  composed  of  lava,  slags,  scoriae,  volcanic 
sand,  &c.  The  back  side  of  it  is  very  precipitous ;  about 
perpendicular.  This  hill  is  called  Laugarfjall  (pronounced 
La-gar-fe-at-l),  or  hot  spring  mountain.  Between  this  and 
the  Bjarnarfell  is  a  small  river  flowing  through  green 
meadows.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have  ascended  the 
larger  mountain,  but  had  not  time  without  running  the  risk 
of  missing  an  eruption  of  the  Great  Geyser.  I  gathered 
some  fine  specimens  of  the  petrifactions  formed  by  the 
water,  by  breaking  them  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  brook 
a  short  distance  from  the  basin.  In  appearance  they  much 
resemble  the  heads  of  cauliflower ;  in  color,  nearly  white.  ■ 
The  incrustations  are  far  more  beautiful  a  little  way  from 
the  fountain  head  than  in  the  basin  itself}  as  the  silicious 
deposit  is  made  principally  as  the  water  cools.  I  noticed 
that  grass  grew  over  a  portion  of  the  ground  among  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  113 

numerous  hot  springs ;  but  near  the  sources  of  them  there  is 
evidently  too  much  heat,  there  being  nothing  but  bare 
earth  around  them.  There  are  no  springs  of  cold  water  in 
the  vicinity. 

But  night  has  arrived,  and  I  must  depart.  Though 
I  had  seen  all  of  these  remarkable  fountains  in  active  play,  I 
was  reluctant  to  leave  them.  I  turned  my  steps  towards 
the  humble  cottage  of  the  peasant  of  Haukadalr,  for 
another  night's  rest  before  starting  south  to  see  Mount 

Hekla. 

6 


CHAPTER   IX 


•It  is  no  dream  : — 


The  wild  horse  swims  the  wilder  stream. 

Mazeppa. 

Our  pleasant  stay  at  the  Geysers  was  finished,  the  last 
look  taken  ;  the  last  piece  of  bacon  that  we  had  boiled  in 
Dame  Nature's  cauldron,  had  disappeared  ;  the  farmer  of 
Haukadalr  had  given  us  his  good  benediction  and  a  hearty 
grip  of  the  hand,  while  he  pocketed  the  dollars  that  we 
gave  him  ;  and,  our  ponies  being  ready,  we  prepared  to 
leave.  The  old  raven,  too, — for  here  in  Iceland  "  the  raven 
croaks  him  on  the  chimney  top,"  as  he  did  when  and 
where  Richard  the  III.  was  born, — the  old  raven  had 
croaked  out  his  farewell.  There  is  no  blinking  the  matter  ; 
we  have  to  face  it.  Mount  Hekla  is  in  the  distance,  and 
visit  it  we  must.  It  was  two  days  journey  there,  and  seve- 
ral terrible  rivers  lay  in  the  route ;  but  hospitable  Icelanders 
lived  on  the  way,  and  the  soft  plank  floors  of  orthodox 
church  "hotels"  invite  the  traveler  to  spread  down  his 
blanket  and  repose.  Reader,  just  glance  at  a  map  of  Ice- 
land, such  a  one  as  Mr.  Gunnlaugsonn's — but  you  haven't 
got  one ;  then  put  one  "  in  your  mind's  eye,"  or  imagine 
yourself  in  a  balloon  about  "these  parts,"  and  see  what  a 
tract  of  country  we  have  to  travel  through. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  115 

To  the  north,  just   about  the  center   of  Iceland,   the 
ranges  of  the  Lang  Jokull  and  Hofs  Jokull  lift  their  heads 
and  show  their  crowns  of  perpetual  snow ;  to  the  east  lies 
Skaptar   Jokull,  once   terrible,  in   an   eruption   the   most 
devastating  that  ever  occurred,  but  now  hushed  in  grim 
repose,  and  covered  with  a  snow-white  blanket.     Far  to  the 
south  is  Mount  Hekla,  with  a  slight  bit  of  snow  near  the 
top,  and  rearing  its  burning  summit  near  six  thousand  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.      Encircled  by  these  mountains 
is  a  valley,  the  most  extensive  tract  of  fertile  land  in  Ice- 
land, and  drained  by  its  largest  rivers.      Behind  us  lay  the 
Bruara,  and  next  was  the  Arbrandsa  ;  but  the  Hvita  (  Wheet- 
ow)  the  Laxa,  and  the  Thjorsa,  are  far  the  largest,  the  last 
more  than  150  miles  in  length,  and  draining  the  extensive 
glaciers  of  the  Hofs  and  Skaptar  Jokulls.      These  rivers 
flow  in  a  southwestern  direction,  emptying  into  the  Atlan- 
tic between  the  Westmann  Islands  and  Cape  Keykjanes. 
We  dashed  into  the  Arbrandsa,  and  were  through  it  in  a 
hurry,  our  ponies  making  light  of  the  three  feet  of  water 
and  a  swift  current.     Don't  ask  us  how  we  fared.     The  rain 
over  head,  and  the  rivers,  lakes,  and  hot  springs,  had  made 
us  amphibious  before  this,  about  as  effectually  as  if  we  had 
been  born  otters  or  sea-gulls.      What  a  splendid  meadow 
we  pass  through,  here  in  the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Hvita ! 
Here  the  "  mower  whets  his  scythe ;"  and  such  a  scythe  ! — 
about  two  feet  long  and  an  inch  wide,  hung  on  a  straight 
snath.     But  don't  he  cut  the  grass  clean  to  the  turf  ?      He 
shaves  it  down  as  close  as  some  men  reap  their  chins — 
those   that   shave   at   all,  I   mean — "let  the  galled   jade 


116  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

wince,"  our  beard  is  uncut.  But  we  were  speaking  of  an 
Iceland  meadow.  How  can  grass  grow  in  Iceland?  you 
ask.  Why,  right  out  of  the  ground ;  for  the  soil,  though 
shallow,  is  quite  fertile.  An  Iceland  meadow  looks  very 
much  like  a  good  pasture  when  nothing  has  been  in  it  for 
some  six  weeks :  grass  thick,  green,  and  soft ;  but  very  little 
of  it  running  up  to  seed.  The  grass  looks  like  our  "  red 
top."  White  clover  would  do  well,  undoubtedly,  if  they 
would  sow  it.  Almost  every  Icelander  unites  the  occupa- 
tions of  farmer  and  fisherman.  In  June  he  goes  to  sea  "  to 
fish  for  cod,"  and  in  July  and  August  cuts  and  secures  his 
hay.  This  is  a  very  important  operation  with  the  Ice- 
lander, for  without  hay  his  animals  would  die  in  the  winter. 
The  hay  is  fed  to  the  sheep  and  cattle ;  the  horses  have  to 
do  without.  How  a  race  of  animals  like  the  horse  manage 
to  live  without  a  particle  of  attention,  shelter,  or  food,  for  a 
loug  Iceland  winter,  except  just  what  they  can  get  out  of 
doors,  is  more  than  we  can  divine.  Guess  they're  used  to 
it  1  They  eat  the  dead  grass,  often  having  to  paw  away 
the  snow  to  get  it ;  they  go  on  the  mountains,  gather  moss, 
browse  the  stunted  shrubbery ;  and  when  driven  from  the 
fields  and  the  mountains,  they  go  down  on  the  sea-shore 
and  pick  up  sea-weed.  When  badly  pushed  with  hunger, 
they  will  eat  fish  bones,  offal,  scraps  of  leather,  wood,  heath, 
and  shrubbery,  and  almost  every  thing  but  earth  and  stones. 
Still,  they  very  seldom  die.  They  seem  hardened  by  the 
climate,  and  fitted  to  endure  the  changing  seasons  as  they 
roll.  In  winter  they  get  reduced  to  skeletons,  mere  skin 
and  bones;  but  towards  the  last  of  May,  when  the  grass 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  11 7 

begins  to  grow,  it  is  surprising  how  quick  they  get  fat. 
Every  horse  in  our  troop  is  literally  fat,  and  no  oats  did 
they  ever  eat ;  neither  have  they  swallowed  the  barrel,  for 
you  can't  see  the  hoops  on  their  sides !  Were  you  to  offer 
any  grain  to  an  Iceland  horse,  he  would  not  know  what 
you  meant,  and  undoubtedly  would  think  you  joking. 

Tell  John  Gossin,  if  Tom  Spring  had  been  an  Iceland 
pony,  Deaf  Burke  never  would  have  kicked  him  "  where 
he  put  his  oats."  Of  course  the  horses  in  the  towns  that 
are  worked,  are  fed  in  the  winter.  The  hay  being  cut  and 
dried  is  tied  up  in  large  bundles  and  "  toted  "  off  on  men's 
backs  to  the  stack-yard.  If  the  distance  is  long,  they  sling 
large  bundles  each  side  of  a  pony's  back,  and  he  carries  it 
off.  And  big  loads  they  will  carry ;  a  pony  thus  loaded 
looks  like  a  moving  hay-stack.  The  farmer  makes  a  square 
yard,  walls  of  stone,  and  turf,  and  this  he  fills  with  long, 
low  stacks,  which  he  covers  with  long  strips  of  turf  cut  up 
from  the  surface  of  a  tough  bog  grass-field ;  and  when  the 
stack  remains  over  a  second  summer,  this  turf  grows,  and 
an  Iceland  settlement  presents  the  curious  appearance  of 
houses,  stone  walls,  and  hay-stacks  covered  with  green  grass 
like  the  meadows  and  pastures  on  every  side. 

Scythes,  spades,  small  rakes  with  teeth  about  an  inch 
and  a  half  long,  pitchforks  and  ropes,  are  all  the  tools  an 
Icelander  uses  on  his  farm.  His  ropes  are  made  of  wool, 
braided,  or  wool  and  hair  mixed,  the  manes  and  tails  of 
the  horses  being  laid  under  contribution  for  the  latter  arti- 
cle. At  the  farm  of  Haukadalr,  this  traveler  astonished 
the  natives  considerably,  by  taking  hold  of  a  scythe,  and 


118  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

showing  them  that  he  could  mow.  Leaving  the  fine  farm 
and  meadows,  we  crossed  a  long  stream  of  lava — a  high 
bleak  ridge — and  soon  reached  the  bank  of  the  White 
Kiver,  along  which  we  traveled  for  several  miles.  Here, 
for  the  first  time  in  Iceland,  we  saw  the  red-headed  pochard 
(fuligula  ruftna),  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  duck  tribe. 
This  bird,  naturalists  inform  us,  is  found  in  North  America, 
near  to  the  Arctic  circle,  in  Europe  south,  as  far  as  Italy, 
and  east,  to  the  Himalaya  mountains  in  Asia ;  a  pretty  wide 
range  for  one  sweet  bird.  The  pair  we  saw  showed  the 
spirit  of  ancient  Romans  by  manifesting  an  unconquerable 
hatred  for  JVero,  our  traveling  companion.  They  doubtless 
had  a  nest ;  for  they  chased  us  for  miles,  and  when  they  got 
tired  of  chasing  the  dog,  he  would  chase  them.  As  beau- 
tiful as  these  birds  were,  had  we  earned  a  gun,  it  is  barely 
possible  that  an  invitation  might  have  been  extended  to 
these  pretty  creatures  to  come  down  and  dine  with  us. 
Blessed  birds :  of  course  I  was  not  so  unfeeling  as  to  wish 
to  hurt  them ! 

The  pochard  is  a  bird  that  lives  on  inland  waters,  not  at 
sea.  His  head  and  neck  are  reddish  brown,  with  a  rich 
gloss,  a  "  collar  "  round  the  neck ;  back  and  throat  black  ; 
other  parts  brown,  white,  and  mottled.  It  is  about  the  size 
of  the  canvas-back  duck.  One  species  of  pochard  has  a 
beautiful  crest  of  feathers  adorning  the  top  of  its  head. 
Soon  after  the  pair  of  birds  left  us,  we  saw  three  or  four 
more.  We  traveled  several  miles  down  the  right  bank  of 
the  Hvita,  and  a  magnificent  river  it  is.  Twice  the  size  of 
the  Hudson  at  Poughkeepsie,  confined  between  high  banks, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  119 

it  rushes  its  milky-looking  flood    onwards  to  the  ocean. 
Indeed,  this  is  a  terrible  stream. 

The  banks  of  the  Hvita,  for  several  miles,  are  from  100 
to  150  feet  high,  and  perpendicular.  What  an  explosion 
there  must  have  been  when  that  crack  burst  in  the  lava, 
and  formed  the  chasm  where  the  river  flows  !  The  stream, 
too,  has  undoubtedly  worn  it  much  deeper  than  it  was  at 
first.  And  how  swift  the  river  runs !  Where  will  streams 
be  swift,  if  not  on  mountainous  islands  ?  The  water,  too, 
like  milk ;  perhaps  the  snow  colors  it !  Some  have  dived 
a  little  deeper  for  the  cause,  and  contend  the  clay  on  the 
mountains  colors  it.  We  finally  emerged  on  to  a  broad 
plain  ;  and  here,  near  the  church  and  farm  of  Brsethratunga, 
the  high  banks  became  lower,  and  we  prepared  to  cross. 
From  certain  ominous  hints  thrown  out  by  the  guide,  I 
made  up  my  mind  for  a  swim.  The  river  was  nearly  a  mile 
wide,  but  the  current  was  broken  by  several  low  islands. 
We  tightened  girths,  placed  the  baggage  as  near  on  the 
top  of  the  horses'  backs  as  possible,  and  rode  in.  The  first 
island  was  gained  easily  enough,  the  water  not  exceeding 
three  feet  deep.  The  next  channel  was  a  turbulent  and 
fearful -looking  torrent.  In  we  plunged,  and  as  ill  luck 
would  have  it,  my  pony  was  the  lowest  one  of  the  lot — 
scarcely  twelve  hands  high.  The  others  were  over  their 
backs  in  the  water,  and  mine  went  a  little  lower  down  the 
stream,  got  out  of  his  depth,  and  away  we  went  down  the 
river.  My  head  and  shoulders  were  out  of  water,  but 
nothing  could  be  seen  of  the  poor  pony  except  his  nose 
and  the  tip  of  his  ears.     I  stuck  to  him  like  a  kingfisher  to 


120  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

a  black  bass,  but  let  him  "  gang  his  ain  gait,"  and  he  pulled 
for  the  island.  Had  it  not  been  a  long  one,  and  extended 
well  down  the  stream,  we  should  have  missed  it,  and  gone 
out  to  sea,  or  else  to  Davy  Jones'  locker.  But  we  struck 
the  lower  end  of  it,  and  just  saved  ourselves.  Though  I 
have  not  experienced  cold  weather  nor  snow  here,  there  is 
one  thing  that  is  cold  in  Iceland,  and  that  is,  the  milky- 
looking  water  in  the  turbulent  rivers.  It  was  a  little  the 
coldest  bath  I  ever  took.  The  white  pony  did  the  swim- 
ming, and  he  swam  like  a  good  fellow,  or  I  should  have 
jumped  off  and  tried  my  own  flippers.  The  dog,  too,  had 
a  hard  time  of  it.  Poor  Nero,  he  did  not  find  his  swim  as 
comfortable  as  his  imperial  namesake  used  to  in  a  Roman 
bath.  He  swam  after  us,  but  the  current  carried  him  so 
swiftly  away  that  he  got  below  the  point  of  the  island,  and 
I  thought  he  must  be  lost.  The  poor  dog  howled  in  de- 
spair, and  turned  back.  He  was  a  noble  animal,  and  I 
really  commiserated  his  unfortunate  situation,  for  he  was 
beyond  any  help  from  us.  By  hard  swimming  he  gained 
the  shallow  water,  and  got  back  to  the  island  we  last  left. 
Now,  look  at  the  sagacity  of  a  dog.  He  saw  he  must  come 
to  us,  or  be  left  the  west  side  of  the  river,  near  a  hundred 
miles  from  home.  So  he  went  clear  to  the  upper  end  of 
the  island,  and  started  again.  The  diagonal  course  that  his 
swimming  and  the  current  took  him,  just  lodged  him  on  the 
lower  end  of  the  island,  where  we  were.  The  next  two 
channels  were  wide,  but  not  deep,  and  we  forded  them 
without  difficulty ;  and  after  about  three-quarters  of  an 
hour,  we  climbed  up  the  eastern  bank  of  the  stream.     We 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  121 

were  now  about  ten  miles  northeast  of  Skalholt,  that  apoc- 
ryphal capital*  of  Iceland.  I  saw  a  beautiful  red  flower 
growing  on  one  of  the  islands  in  this  river,  and  I  stopped 
and  gathered  some  seeds.  Perhaps  they  will  add  one  to 
our  floral  variety  in  America. 

My  swim  did  me  no  damage — the  rain  for  some  days 
past  having  seasoned  me,  so  that,  like  the  skinned  eels,  I 
was  used  to  it.     Be  it  here  recorded  for  the  benefit  of  poor, 
erring,  and  sinful  man,  the  slave  of  habit,  fashion's  minion, 
Plato's  biped  without  feathers — all  erring  mortals  who  mar 
what  God  hath  made,  those  who  scrape  their  faces  with 
villainous  steel,  those  who  doff  Dame  Nature's  garb,  and 
find  no  substitute — all  these,  and  any' others,  if  such  there 
be,    are   informed   that    this    wanderer    has    never   once 
"  caught  cold,"  not  the   slightest,  since  this    "  beard "    of 
mine  had  six  weeks'  pith.     And  this  with  the  damp  fogs 
of  England,  steamboating  in  the  Baltic,  coasting  by  Nor- 
way, "  schoonering  "  in  the  Arctic  sea,  camping  out  in  Ice- 
land, swimming  the  cold  rivers,  sleeping  on  the  ground, 
climbing  snowy  mountains,  and  various  "  moving  accidents 
by  flood  and  field," — this  is  saying  something  for  nearly 
three  years'  experience  of  throwing  away  the  razor.     But  I 
see  how  it  is,  my  friends  will  never  know  what  a  *'  magni- 
ficent Turk  "  I  am,  until  I  get  my  phiz  engraved — brass  on 
wood  ! — or  else  put  in  "  dagger  o'  type ;"  and  this  will  em- 
phatically say  to  all  my  miserable,  chin-shaven  brethren, 
Go  and  do  likewise.     Ahem,  where  was  I  ?     On  the  east 
bank  of  the  White  River,  shivering  with  the  effects  of  a 
cold  bath.     A  broad  tract  of  lava  was  our  road,  and  no 
8* 


122  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

vegetable  life  for  a  long  distance,  save  the  heath  that  ap- 
peared here  and  there,  now  in  full  bloom.  A  few  hours' 
ride,  part  of  it  through  a  good  farming  country,  brought 
us  to  Hruni.  In  various  directions  on  our  route,  we  saw 
the  steam  of  hot  springs  rising  up.  Hruni  is  not  a  large 
town.  It  contains  a  church,  a  farm,  and  the  residence  of 
the  clergyman.  Indeed,  I  was  glad  to  see  a  friendly  roof. 
It  had  rained  for  hours,  and  though  the  rain  had  warmed 
the  ice-water,  still  'twas  wet.  I  felt  as  if  a  log  cabin  would 
have  been  a  palace  ;  but  here  was  a  house,  a  good  one,  a 
framed  building  with  a  wooden  roof.  Never  was  hospitality 
more  welcome,  nor  was  it  ever  extended  more  freely.  It  was 
about  three  o'clock,  and  we  had  been  in  our  saddles  since 
nine,  and  a  long,  rough,  and  wet  time  we  had  had  of  it. 
The  clergyman,  Herre  Johann  Briem,  one  of  nature's  noble- 
men, indeed,  gave  me  a  hearty  welcome.  He  set  before  me 
bread,  butter,  cheese,  coffee,  milk ;  and  a  most  capital  bottle 
of  port  wine  he  uncorked.  I  shall  not  tell  how  many 
glasses  of  it  went  under  my  jacket  before  I  left.  Indeed, 
I  never  counted  them. 

Mr.  Briem  was  physically  one  of  the  finest  men  I  have 
ever  seen.  At  least  six  feet  three  inches  high,  and  well- 
proportioned,  he  would  have  been  a  striking  figure  among 
the  grenadiers  of  Frederick  the  Great.  The  house  had 
good  furniture,  and  a  fine  library  covered  one  wall  of  his 
parlor.  Here  I  saw,  for  the  first  time  in  Iceland,  the  uAn- 
tiquitates  Americana"  a  work  issued  by  the  Society  of 
Northern  Antiquaries  at  Copenhagen,  giving  the  full  ac- 
count of  the  "  x\nte-Columbian    Discovery  of   America." 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  123 

Admiring  a  little  book  in  Mr.  Briem's  library,  a  volume  of 
the  "Norihurfari"  an  Icelandic  Annual  for  1849,  he  very 
politely  made  me  a  present  of  it.  I  felt  ashamed  at  ac- 
cepting it ;  but  I  could  do  no  otherwise,  though  I  had 
nothing,  not  the  slightest  thing  about  me,  either  English  or 
American,  that"  I  could  present  him  in  return.  A  fine  intel- 
lect beamed  from  Mr.  Briem's  countenance,  and  his  hospi- 
talities were  as  graceful  as  his  person  was  comely.  He 
showed  me  a  splendidly  printed  volume,  a  large  octavo 
Danish  and  Icelandic  Dictionary. 

I  can  inform  the  old  Austrian  dame — that  Madame  Trol- 
lope,  the  conceited  Ida  Pfeiffer — that  all  the  Iceland  clergy- 
men I  met,  were  as  hospitable  as  Mr.  Briem.  Some  of  the 
very  same  clergymen  who  entertained  her,  also  opened  their 
houses  to  me ;  and  not  a  penny  of  compensation  could  I 
ever  get  them  to  take,  although  she  most  falsely  states  they 
received  her  money  for  entertaining  her.  This  is  the  wo- 
man that  runs  all  over  the  world,  and  writes  books  about 
what  she  sees,  and  much  that  she  does  not  see  ;  and  because 
the  governor  of  Iceland  would  not  be  bored  by  her  shallow 
Highness,  then  she  pens  all  manner  of  false  and  libelous 
stories  of  the  most  kind,  hospitable,  unoffending  race  of 
people  that  the  sun  shines  upon.  The  best  comment  that 
can  be  made  on  her  book  is,  that  she  describes  her  journey 
to  Mt.  Hekla,  and  ascent  to  the  summit,  when  the  people 
here  on  the  ground  told  me  she  never  put  her  foot  on  the 
mountain  at  all ! 


CHAPTEE    X. 

Up  the  high  hill  he  heaves  a  huge  round  stone. 
The  huge  round  stone  resulting  with  a  bound, 
Thunders  impetuous  down,  and  smokes  along  the  ground. 

Homer. 

All  pleasant  sojourns  must  end  ;  all  oases  must  fade  in 
the  distance  as  we  journey  o'er  the  desert  sands  of  life. 
Though  it  rained  hard,  an  hour  after  I  stopped  with  "  mine 
host,"  the  intelligent  clergyman  of  Hruni,  we  were  in  our 
saddles,  and  the  white,  the  black,  and  the  chestnut  ponies 
were  scampering  "  over  the  hills  and  far  away."      The  far- 
mer of  Haukadalr  left  us  here,  and  Mr.  Briem  sent  one  of 
his  farm  servants  to  show  us  the  way.     It  is  two  pretty 
good  days'  ride  from  the  Geysers  to  Hekla ;  and  we  had.  yet 
two  large  rivers  to   cross,   and  sundry  mountains,  valleys, 
lava-beds,  and  green  fields  to  go  over  or  get  round,  before 
we  were  half  way  to  the  celebrated  volcano.      Near  the 
house  we  passed  a  very  large  spring  of  limpid   water  that 
looked  most   deliciously    tempting  for  a  swim.      Getting 
off  my  horse,  I  tried  the  temper  of  it,  and  found  it  96° 
of  Fahrenheit,  just  comfortable   for  a  warm  bath.      Our 
route  took  us  across  the  Laxa,  a  broad,  shallow  river ;  and 
here  were  some  of  the  best  farms  I  had  seen  in  Iceland. 
The  white  clover  was  here,  the  first  I  had  seen  of  it,  and 
the  meadows  evidently  produced  nearly  or  quite  double  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  125 

hay  that  those  did  which  were  seeded  down  with  the  native 
grass  alone.  The  blooming  clover  whitening  the  fields  gave 
the  land  a  fine  appearance,  and  half  made  me  think  I  was 
back  home  again.  A  forest  of  maple  and  beech  trees  would 
have  completed  the  illusion.  I  saw  here,  as  I  did  in  other 
places,  caraway  growing  spontaneously  in  the  fields  ;  and 
it  was  as  tall,  as  finely-flavored,  and  as  well-seeded  as  you 
find  it  with  us.  It  is  not  indigenous  here  ;  but  some  being 
brought  to  Iceland  and  planted,  it  has  propagated  itself 
over  a  good  portion  of  the  cultivated  parts  of  the  island. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  white  clover. 

The  meadow  lands  in  Iceland  are  rough  in  surface,  just 
in  a  state  of  nature,  not  one  acre  in  ten  thousand  ever  hav- 
ing had  the  turf  broken.    They  are  not  plowed  and  "  seeded 
down,"  but  get  seeded  and  grassed  over  by  nature.     As  I 
have  mentioned,  there  is  not  a  plow  or  a  harrow  in  the 
whole  country.     The  garden  spots  round  the  houses  seldom 
exceed  the  sixteenth  part  of  an  acre,  and  they  are  dug  up 
with  a  spade.      The    angelica — angelica  archangelica — the 
same  that  grows  in  our  wet  meadows  in  America,  is  here 
grown  and  used  as  a  salad.    It  is  a  native  of  Iceland.    With 
us  it  is  reputed  poisonous  ;  but  here  I  have  eaten  it,  and 
think  it  has  a  very  pleasant  taste.    Many  a  boy  in  our  north- 
ern States  has  made  a  flute  out  of  an  "  angelica  stalk ;"  but 
probably  few  of  them  ever  ate  it  afterwards,  or  thought  of 
applying  the  Highland  proverb  to  it,  "  Here's  baith  meat 
and  music,  quoth  the  dog  when  he  ate  the  piper's  bag." 
Every  thing  in  Iceland  seems  to  go  by  contraries,  the  an- 
gelica and  "  red-top "  grass,  and  other  of  our  aquatic  and 


126  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

swamp  plants,  flourishing  everywhere,  on  dry  as  well  as 
on  wet  soil. 

The  peasant  soon  returned,  leaving  us  pursuing  our  way 
south.  In  the  valley  of  the  Laxa  the  lava  is  seen  in  great 
variety  of  color.  Much  of  it  is  in  high,  red  hills,  as  bright 
as  if  it  had  been  painted.  Some  of  it  is  black,  and  some 
brown.  The  red  was  the  softest  and  most  porous. 
Some  of  the  hilly  river-banks  were  crumbling  down  like 
slate  cliffs,  but  a  near  view  showed  them  to  be  lava.  A  few 
miles  travel  brought  us  to  the  banks  of  the  Thiorsa,  a 
mighty  river,  fay  larger  than  any  we  had  seen,  and  I  believe 
the  largest  in  Iceland.  It  comes  from  near  the  interior  of 
the  island,  and  cannot  be  much  less  than  200  miles  long. 
It  drains  the  waters  that  flow  from  the  glaciers  of  Hekla, 
Hofs  Jokull,  Skaptar  Jokull,  Vatna  Jokull,  and  Torfa  Jo- 
kull.  A  profile  view  of  this  river,  as  laid  down  on  the  large 
map  of  Iceland,  shows  the  highest  branches  of  it  to  be 
3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  half  as  high  as  Mt. 
Hekla. 

Here  was  a  ferry,  the  first  we  had  seen.  The  Thiorsa  is 
nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide  here ;  and  its  depth — I 
believe  I  will  not  tell  how  deep  it  is — ask  the  great  north- 
ern diver,  for  he  may  have  been  to  the  bottom  of  it :  I  have 
not.  The  farmer-ferryman  and  his  son  left  their  hay-field, 
and  in  a  stout  skiff  rowed  us  across.  The  horses  were  tied 
together  in  a  string,  the  nose  of  one  to  the  tail  of  another ; 
and  the  guide  sat  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  led  the  for- 
ward one.  The  poor  ponies  had  hard  work  in  swimming  the 
cold  river,  and  seemed  to  sutler  some.     They  tried  hard  to 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  12*7 

get  into  the  boat,  but  that  would  have  shipwrecked  us  in- 
evitably. The  powerful  current  threw  us  a  long  distance 
down  the  river  before  we  landed  on  the  south  side.  The 
boatman  charged  me  half  a  dollar,  Danish,  about  thirty 
cents ;  cheap  enough  certainly  for  his  fatigue  and  danger. 
At  eight  o'clock  we  arrived  at  the  farm  and  church  of 
Skarth,  where  we  tarried  all  night.  The  clergyman  of  the 
parish  does  not  live  here,  but  the  obliging  farmer  did  every 
thing  he  could  to  make  me  comfortable.  I  think  I  stated 
that  I  had  arrived  at  the  dignity  of  sleeping  under  the 
bed.  That  is  a  luxury  that  until  lately  has  only  been  ac- 
corded to  princes.  The  eider-down  bed,  from  the  Iceland 
eider-duck,  has  long  been  noted  for  its  lightness  and  soft- 
ness. It  is  perhaps  the  greatest  non-conductor  of  heat  that 
can  be  used  as  a  covering.  It  is  altogether  too  warm.  A 
down  bed  a  foot  thick  looks  as  if  it  would  smother  you 
when  put  on  top  of  the  bed,  but  its  perceptible  weight  is 
nothing.  I  usually  kicked  off  this  down  covering  long 
before  morning,  for  it  is  impervious  to  all  the  insensible 
perspiration,  and  cpnsequently  in  less  than  half  an  hour 
the  sleeper  finds  himself  perspiring  profusely.  I  some- 
times put  the  down  bed  under  me,  and  used  my  Highland 
plaid  for  a  covering.  The  unhealthiness  of  down  beds  has 
been  discovered,  and  kings  and  nobles  have  ceased,  in  a 
great  measure,  to  use  them ;  and  consequently  the  price  of 
down  has  greatly  fallen,  and  now  every  peasant  can  afford 
to  have  a  bed  of  down.  Here  I  slept  in  a  church  for  the 
first  time.  Learning  that  it  was  customary  for  travelers 
in  Iceland,  I  had  no  scruples  at  sleeping  under  the  same 


128  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

roof  with  the  church  mice.  As  we  are  all  destined  to  take 
a  long  sleep  some  day  in  a  church  yard,  or  somewhere 
else,  I  thought  I  might  as  well  begin  now,  try  it  by  de- 
grees, and  see  how  I  liked  it.  I  did  not  know  but  the  rap- 
ping ghost  of  old  Thor  with  his  sledge  hammer  would  rap 
confusion  into  my  noddle,  after  his  usual  Iceland  style  of 
"  thunder  in  the  winter  ;"  but  I  was  not  disturbed.  I  slept 
perfectly  sound,  till  the  sun  was  high  in  heaven.  The 
green  mounds  around  the  church  looked  as  peaceful,  and 
no  doubt  the  spirits  of  the  dead  were  as  quiet  in  heaven,  as 
if  no  Sassenach  had  been  here  to  disturb  their  slumbers. 
A  good  reason  why  old  Thor  did  not  disturb  me.  He  is  a 
heathen  deity,  and  totally  indifferent  to  any  use  whatever 
that  churches  may  be  pinV  to.  Perhaps,  were  I  to  go  into 
one  of  his  caves  without  reverently  laying  my  shoes  aside, 
and  offering  up  my  guide  as  a  sacrifice,  he  might  jump  out 
of  the  crater  of  Hekla,  and  hit  me  a  rap  that  would  give 
my  "  daylights "  their  exit,  or  knock  me  where  the  sun 
never  sets.  I  gave  the  farmer  a  dollar,  for  milk,  cream, 
horse-pasture,  and  church-rent,  and  for  the  first  time  got  a 
hearty  Iceland  salute.  Throwing  his  arms  round  my  neck 
he  gave  me  a  smack  that  fairly  echoed  from  the  surround- 
ing hills. 

From  Skarth,  the  Eyjafjalla  and  Tindfjalla  Jokulls  show 
their  broad,  snowy  sides  and  summits ;  but  Hekla  is  the 
most  conspicuous.  The  whole  mountain,  near  to  the  top,  is 
black.  Near  the  summit  there  are  some  spots  of  snow  that 
extend  more  or  less  down  the  north  side,  while  a  curling 
wreath  of  smoke  on  the  apex  reveals  the  existence  of  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  129 

fire  within.  We  started  directly  towards  the  mountain, 
with  the  farmer  for  our  guide.  On  every  side  of  Hekla,  as 
far  as  we  could  see,  much  of  the  ground  was  covered  with 
black  lava.  The  land  over  which  we  rode  here  was  covered 
with  lava  and  volcanic  sand,  and,  what  is  seldom  seen  in 
such  a  situation,  tufts  of  grass  grew  here  and  there.  Heath 
is  nearly  the  first  vegetation  that  finds  root  on  the  lava. 
Here,  in  a  pasture  near  a  river,  we  saw  a  splendid  lot  of 
horses.  What  a  wild,  untamed  look  they  had  ;  sleek  and 
fat,  with  long,  flowing  tails  and  manes  !  They  appeared 
like  the  flock  that  crossed  the  path  of  Mazeppa.  The  Ice- 
land farmers  usually  keep  great  numbers  of  horses,  and 
there  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  they  can  be  raised 
so  cheaply.  And  they  sell  these  animals  cheap.  I  saw  a 
beautiful,  jet  black,  four-year  old,  at  the  Geysers,  an  entire 
horse,  that  had  never  been  saddled.  His  form  was  symme- 
try itself.  He  was  just  about  twelve  and  a  half  hands  high. 
I  asked  the  price — less  than  ten  dollars,  our  money.  In 
Boston  or  New  York  he  would  bring  $150  or  $200.  We 
crossed  the  Vestri  Ranga,  a  small  stream,  and  arrived  about 
the  middle  of  the  afternoon  at  Noefrholt,  the  last  farm  and 
the  last  green  spot  this  side  of  Hekla.  The  farmer  was  from 
home ;  and  our  farmer  from  Skarth,  who  had  accompanied 
us,  started  ofT  after  him.  He  had  not  got  far  before  down 
he  came,  thrown  by  his  horse,  or  rather  falling  off,  for  I 
could  see  nothing  to  bring  him  out  of  the  saddle.  Perhaps 
Mr.  Cogniac  Brandy,  or  somebody  else,  had  put  a  "  brick  " 
in  his  hat.  He  was  a  big,  beefy  fellow,  and  fell  tumbling 
down  like  a  meal-sack.     I  thought  he  must  be  killed,  and 


130  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

ran  to  help  him  ;  but  he  was  up  in  a  jiffy,  and  under  full 
gallop  in  less  than  a  minute,  vaulting  into  his  saddle  on  the 
off  side  at  that.  It  takes  an  Icelander,  to  fall  and  not  hurt 
him.  I  rather  think  this  one  would  tumble  down  Mount 
Hekla  and  never  bruise  his  shins.  The  farmer  came  home, 
and  told  us  we  could  put  up  at  his  house ;  and  then  the 
Skarth  farmer  returned  to  his  home.  This  was  the  first 
really  pleasant  evening  I  had  seen  during  my  journey,  and 
it  bid  fair  for  a  clear  day  on  the  morrow.  Unless  it  were 
so,  it  would  be  useless  to  attempt  the  ascent  of  Hekla,  and 
expect  to  see  any  thing.  I  took  the  guide,  and  climbed  to 
the  top  of  a  steep  mountain,  one  of  several  about  a  thou- 
sand feet  high  that  skirt  the  base  of  Hekla,  and  seemed  to 
stand  as  sentries  near  their  fiery  and  warlike  monarch. 
Here  the  recollection  of  my  boyish  days  and  boyish  sports 
came  up,  and  I  felt  like  having  a  little  fun.  There  was  a 
grand  chance  for  rolling  stones  down  hill,  and  we  improved 
it.  After  setting  off  a  number  of  different  sizes,  we  noticed 
a  ponderous  boulder  partly  buried  in  the  earth.  It  looked 
as  if  it  could  be  moved.  It  was  nearly  .round,  and  would 
weigh  five  or  six  tons.  I  called  the  guide  to  help  me  push 
it  off,  but  he  looked  ominously  at  the  house  far  on  the  plain 
below.  I  convinced  him  that  it  could  not  go  there ;  and 
then  he  showed  me  the  farmer's  wall,  a  beautiful  dyke  of 
stones  and  turf  that  separated  the  meadow  below  from  the 
mountain  pasture.  I  told  him  I  would  pay  all  damage  ;  and 
we  got  behind  it.  With  our  backs  to  the  mountain,  and 
feet  against  it,  we  crowded  it  out  of  its  bed.  It  fell  with  an 
awful  crash  through  about  a  hundred  feet  of  jagged  rocks, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  131 

nearly  perpendicular,  and  then  took  the  sloping  plain  be- 
low. But  didn't  it  streak  it  ?  The  ground  fairly  smoked. 
The  surface  was  smooth  sand  and  gravel,  and  within  thirty 
or  thirty-five  degrees  of  the  perpendicular.  Lower  down, 
the  grass  began  to  grow.  The  rock  took  a  bee-line  for  two 
or  three  hundred  yards,  till  near  the  bottom,  when  it  com- 
menced a  series  of  flights  of  "  ground  and  lofty  tumbling  " 
that  would  have  done  honor  to  Ducrow.  One  leap  that  I 
measured  was  thirty-four  feet,  and  there  it  struck  the  far- 
mer's wall.  It  walked  through  it  as  if  it  had  been  a  cobweb, 
making  a  horrible  gap  near  six  feet  wide,  and  moving  one 
stone  that  would  weigh  at  least  a  ton.  "Well,  it  was  capital 
fun.  The  old  rock  curled  round  in  a  circuit,  and  rested  in 
the  meadow.  The  farmer  and  his  family  ran  out  of  the 
house  at  the  noise,  and  he  came  up  to  meet  us.  The  guide 
got  a  furious  blowing  up,  all  of  which  he  took  very  coolly. 
I  ended  the  confab  by  paying  him  a  dollar  for  the  damage 
done,  and  he  went  away  quite  satisfied.  As  I  had  had  my 
dance,  it  was  all  fair  that  I  should  pay  the  fiddler. 

The  evening  came  on ;  as  glorious  a  sunset  as  ever 
gilded  the  tops  of  Arctic  mountains.  I  retired  early,  hoping 
in  the  morning  to  climb  the  rugged  steep  of  Mount  Hekla. 


CHAPTEE    XI. 

Thule,  the  period  of  cosmographie, 
Doth  vaunt  of  Hekla,  whose  sulphureous  fire 
Doth  melt  the  frozen  clime,  and  thaw  the  skie  ; 
Trinacrian  ^Etna's  flames  ascend  not  hier: 
These  things  seem  wondrous. 

Old  Ballad. 

Heigho  for  Hekla !  Thursday,  July  29th,  was  a  lofty  one 
in  my  calendar.  The  sun  had  many  hours  the  start  of  us,  get- 
ting up  as  he  does  here  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning.  An 
early  hour,  though,  found  us  in  our  saddles.  The  morning 
was  magnificently  bright,  the  mountain  being  visible,  clear 
to  the  curling  wreath  of  smoke  on  the  summit.  Little 
patches  of  snow,  here  and  there  near  the  top,  made  a  break 
in  the  broad,  black  streams  of  lava  that  covered  every  part 
of  the  mountain.  We  provided  ourselves  with  every  requi- 
site fqr  a  long  day's  journey.  My  knapsack  was  well  stored 
with  good  things — solids  and  fluids ;  and  then  I  had  my 
old  Scotch  companion,  the  tartan  plaid,  to  keep  the  cold 
away ;  and  each  of  us  had  a  fine  staff — what  the  Swiss 
travelers  call  an  Alpen  stock,  but  ours  were  Hekla  stocks, 
Iceland  staffs — some  six  feet  long,  and  armed  with  a  strong, 
sharp,  iron  pike.  My  traveling  guide,  the  farmer  of 
Noefrholt,  and  the  reader's  most  humble  servant,  made  up 
the  party — not  quite  a  princely  retinue,  but  enough.     Yes, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  133 

and  there  was  our  dog,  Nero.  The  top  of  the  mountain  was 
distant  about  seven  miles,  of  which  we  could  ride  nearly 
four.  Away  we  galloped  through  some  fine  green  mead- 
ows, till  we  came  to  a  mountain  gorge  on  our  right,  down 
which  in  numerous  cascades  poured  a  small  river.  Several 
ducks  and  water-hens  flew  away  as  we  approached  their 
mountain  home.  Passing  through  this  gorge,  we  came  into 
a  circular  meadow  entirely  shut  in  by  mountains,  like  an  im- 
mense amphitheater,  and  this  was  the  last  bit  of  productive 
land  on  our  way  towards  the  summit  of  Hekla.  A  hut 
was  erected  here,  as  a  temporary  residence  for  the  farmer 
while  gathering  his  hay.  High,  precipitous  hills  of  red 
lava  overhung  our  path  on  the  right,  but  the  ascent  for 
some  distance  was  gradual.  For  near  a  mile,  we  galloped 
our  horses  over  a  gently  ascending  plain  of  fine  volcanic 
sand.  High  up  the  mountain  side  were  several  sheep,  but 
scarce  a  blade  of  grass  could  be  seen  where  they  stood. 
Perhaps  they  went  up  to  enjoy  the  prospect  of  the  green 
meadows. far  in  the  distance.  We  soon  found  our  mount- 
ain climbing  was  not  going  to  be  play.  Our  ponies  found 
it  so  too.  Our  route  was  intercepted  by  a  broad  and  high 
stream  of  lava  that  extended  six  or  seven  miles  from  the 
summit  of  the  mountain.  We  turned  to  the  right  in  a 
southerly  direction,  and  for  four  or  five  hundred  yards  found 
it  about  as  steep  as  our  ponies  could  climb.  We  took  a 
zig-zag  course  to  relieve  the  animals,  and  after  half  an 
hour's  climbing  found  ourselves  on  a  level  table-land,  nearly 
half  a  mile  across.  We  were  now  about  a  thousand  feet 
above  the  lower  region,  where  we  left  the  farm  house  ;  and 


134  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

here  we  were  obliged  to  leave  our  horses.  The  Icelanders 
have  an  ingenious  way  of  fastening  their  animals  so  they 
will  not  stray  away.  They  fasten  all  their  horses  in  a  cir- 
cle, tying  the  head  of  one  to  the  tail  of  another,  and  bring- 
ing the  head  of  the  first  round  to  the  tail  of  the  last.  If 
they  choose  to  travel,  they  can ;  but  like  John  on  his  rock- 
ing-horse, they  may  gallop  all  day  in  one  interminable  cir- 
cle, and  not  get  far.  Near  where  we  left  the  horses,  extend- 
ing away  to  our  right,  was  a  large  stream  of  lava — one  that 
came  from  the  eruption  of  1845;  and  though  seven  years 
had  elapsed,  it  was  not  yet  cool,  and  smoke  was  rising  from 
it  in  many  places.  The  "streams  of  lava"  that  run  from 
the  craters  of  volcanoes,  and  which  here  in  Iceland  are 
seen  on  the  plains  as  well  as  on  the  mountains,  are  usually 
from  twenty  to  forty  feet  deep,  from  a  hundred  yards  to 
half  a  mile  in  breadth,  and  from  one  to  ten  miles  long. 
They  are  vast  ridges  of  rough,  black  rocks,  of  a  most  for- 
bidding aspect,  the  largest  masses  weighing  from  one  to 
three  or  four  tons.  When  it  flows  from  the  mountain,  it  is 
a  stream  of  molten  mineral,  and  its  progress  generally 
rather  slow,  but  dependent  on  the  steepness  of  the  mount- 
ain, and  the  size  and  the  force  of  the  stream.  Melted  lava 
often  does  not  move  more  than  from  fifty  to  one  hundred 
yards  in  a  day,  but  in  somecases  it  may  run  several  miles.  It 
soon  begins  to  explode  and  break  up,'  by  the  expansion  and 
escape  of  the  air  within  it,  and  by  the  force  of  the  steam 
created  by  moisture  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  beneath. 
While  the  lava  is  breaking  up,  for  several  days,  it  keeps 
up  a  terrible  roaring.     Then  this  rough  mass,  as  black  as 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  135 

charcoal,  lies  unchanged  in  appearance  for  centuries.  After 
a  long  time,  it  begins  to  turn  a  little  brown,  and  on  its  sur- 
face appears  in  minute  particles  one  of  the  lowest  order  of 
mosses. 

The  learned  Spallanzani,  Brydone,  Dr.  Holland,  and 
others  who  have  investigated  the  subject,  have  all  agreed 
that  there  is  no  data  on  which  a  rule  can  be  established,  or 
a  judgment  formed,  as  to  the  age  of  the  lava.  -It  is  light 
and  porous,  usually  not  more  than  half  the  specific  gravity 
of  granite.  Pumice,  among  other  volcanic  substances,  is 
lighter  than  water,  and  will  float.  Very  old  lavas  are  often 
of  a  bright  red  color,  and  soft  and  light,  having  something 
of  the  consistency  of  chalk.  Much  of  the  matter  thrown 
out  of  a  volcano,  at  certain  periods  of  the  eruption,  is  in 
the  form  of  fine,  black  sand.  We  amused  ourselves  by  roll- 
ing some  masses  of  old  lava  down  a  steep  declivity  into  a 
valley.  It  was  very  red,  and  so  rotten  that  it  broke  into 
innumerable  pieces.  Leaving  our  horses,  we  commenced 
the  ascent.  While  crossing  a  rough  stream  of  lava,  a  mass, 
weighing  one  or  two  tons,  rolled  as  I  stepped  on  it,  and 
threw  me  down,  and  I  had  a  narrow  escape  from  a  severe 
accident.  I  got  off  with  a  bruised  shin,  certainly  not  so 
unpleasant  a  companion  as  a  broken  bone  would  be,  espe- 
cially in  a  region  like  this,  where  there  is  not  a  skillful  sur- 
geon within  a  thousand  miles.  Our  ascent  led  up  a  valley, 
having  on  our  left  the  stream  of  lava  aforesaid,  and  on  our 
right  and  before  us  a  ifill  of  volcanic  sand.  Into  this  our 
feet  sank  deeply  at  every  step.  A  half  an  hour  brought  us 
to  the  steep  front  of  the  mountain,  and  now  commenced  the 


136  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

ascent  in  real  earnest.  There  was  no  bilking  it ;  climb  we 
must.  Up,  up  we  went,  like  crows  scaling  Ben  Nevis. 
How  the  guides  traveled  so  easy  I  could  not  tell.  They 
had  a  heavy  knapsack  and  bottles  of  water  and  bottles  of  milk, 
and  I  had  nothing ;  but  they  tripped  lightly  along  under 
their  burdens,  while  I  found  it  hard  work.  At  first  I  could 
go  ten  or  fifteen  minutes  without  resting ;  but  after  an  hour 
or  so  I  had  to  stop  every  five,  or  six  yards,  throw  myself  on 
the  ground  and  recruit.  Though  nearly  "  tired  to  death," 
as  boys  say,  yet  in  an  astonishingly  short  space  of  time  the 
fatigue  would  vanish.  Here  the  surface  was  volcanic  sand 
— beaten  hard  by  the  wind,  apparently — and  a  good  road 
to  travel  on.  There  were  fragments  of  lava — "  slag  "  and 
"  scoriae " — scattered  over  the  ground.  Some  of  these  I 
started  down  the  mountain,  but  they  were  so  rotten  that 
they  broke  into  pieces  before  rolling  a  hundred  yards.  We 
were  getting  between  two  and  three  thousand  feet  high, 
nearly  half  way  up  the  mountain ;  and  yet  vegetation  had 
not  entirely  ceased.  Now  and  then,  we  could  see  a  bit  of 
grass,  and  sometimes  a  very  small  plant.  One  tiny,  yellow 
flower,  not  bigger  than  a  gold  dollar,  I  gathered  and  put  in 
my  pocket-book  ;  and  it  proved  to  be  the  last  flower  that  I 
saw  in  going  up.  While  stopping  to  rest,  I  found  I  had  fre- 
quent recourse  to  a  certain  glass  thing  that  I  carried — 
'vulgo  vocato,  a  "  pocket  pistol " — but  what  it  was  charged 
with  is  nothing  to  nobody  !  After  about  two  hours  hard 
climbing,  we  arrived  at  the  top  of  an  eminence  where  I  had 
hoped  we  should  at  least  see  the  summit  of  the  moifntain, 
and  that  not  far  off;  but  we  were  yet  a  long  distance  from 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  137 

it;  hills  peeping  o'er  hills,  and  one  peak  rising  above  an- 
other.    The  weather  was  beautiful ;  and,  far  to  the  west,  we 
could  see  the  rivers  with  their  green  valleys,  and  beyond 
them  the  snow-covered  jokulls  of  the  far  north.     To  the 
south  we  could  see  the  Atlantic,  though  more  than  thirty 
miles  distant.     But  we  must  climb,  and  up,  up  we  go.     I 
noticed  here  and  there,  among  the  dark-colored  lava  and 
sand,  a  white-looking  boulder,  bearing  evident    marks   of 
fire  ;  some  the  size  of  a  cannon-shot,  and  some  that  would 
weigh  nearly  half  a  ton.     They  were  not  granite,  neither 
were  they  chalk;  but  I  could  not  break  them  or  carry 
away  a  specimen ;  so  I  had  to  be  content  with  knowing 
they  were  not  ordinary  lava,  but  still  something  that  must 
have  been  thrown  out  of  the  volcano.     Our  ascent  grew 
less   precipitous,   and  we    veered    to   the  left,   not   going 
directly  towards  the  summit     At  the  height  of  about  4,000 
feet,  we  first  struck  the  snow.      This  was  the  first  snow  I 
had  trod  since  arriving  in  Iceland ;  and,  as  if  the  whole  or- 
der of  nature  must  be  reversed  here,  this  snow  was  black. 
This  was  not  exactly  the  natural  color,  but  a  complexion  it 
had  assumed  from  being  so  near  the  mouth  of  the  volcano. 
Sand,    ashes,  dust,  and  smoke  had  coated  and  begrimed 
it  so  thoroughly  that  the  whole  surface  was  like  fine  char- 
coal.    A  long  valley  was  filled  with  it.     As  near  as  I  could 
judge,  it  was  from  five  to  fifty  feet  deep.     We  passed  over 
several   snow-banks   that    were   many   hundred    yards   in 
breadth,   some  of  which  had  not  lost   their  white   color. 
From  the  level  country  in  the  distance,  these  snow-banks 
looked  like  mere  patches,  but  here  we  found  some  of  them 
1 


138  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  across.  We  ascended  the  mount- 
ain from  the  west,  but  now  we  were  north  of  the  summit, 
and  where  most  of  the  snow  lay.  Clouds  now  gathered 
round  us,  and  we  had  to  grope  our  way  in  the  fog  for 
some  time.  The  ascent  grew  more  precipitous,  and  the 
climbing  was  exceedingly  toilsome.  The  earth  and  lava 
now  appeared  of  a  red  color.  We  seemed  to  be  approach- 
ing the  region  of  fire.  Sulphurous  fumes  saluted  our  nos- 
trils ;  the  weather  cleared  a  little,  and,  suddenly,  before  us 
yawned  a  deep  crater.  What  a  horrible  chasm  !  Indeed, 
it  seemed  like  hell  itself.  Fire  and  brimstone  literally. 
Dark,  curling  smoke,  yellow  sulphur,  and  red  cinders,  ap- 
pearing on  every  side  of  it.  The  crater  was  funnel-shaped, 
about  150  feet  deep,  and  about  the  same  distance  across 
at  the  top.  This  was  one  of  four  craters  where  the  fire 
burst  out  in  1845.  After  the  eruption,  they  had  caved  in, 
and  remained  as  we  now  saw  them.  In  a  row  above  this 
one,  extending  towards  the  top  of  the  mountain,  were  three 
other  craters,  all  similar  in  appearance. 

Our  progress  now  was  one  of  great  danger.  At  our 
left  was  the  north  side  of  the  mountain ;  and  for  a  long  dis- 
tance it  was  a  perpendicular  wajl,  dropping  off  more  than  a 
thousand  feet  below  us.  A  large  stone  thrown  over,  never 
sent  back  an  echo.  The  craters  were  on  our  right,  and 
between  these  and  the  precipice  on  our  left  we  threaded  a 
narrow  ridge  of  sand,  not  wider  than  a  common  foot-path. 
A  more  awful  scene,  or  a  more  dangerous  place  I  hope 
never  to  be  in.  Had  it  not  been  for  my  long  staff,  I  never 
could  have   proceeded.      The  dangers  and   terrors  of  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  139 

scene  were  greatly  increased  by  the  clouds  and  cold  wind 
that  came  up  on  our  left,  and  the  smoke  and  sulphur- 
ous stench  that  rose  from  the  craters  on  our  right.  One 
moment  in  danger  of  falling  over  the  perpendicular  side  of 
the  mountain  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  next  of  being  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  burning  crater  on  the  other.  Our  path 
was  exceedingly  steep,  and  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
we  pursued  it  with  slow  and  cautious  steps.  Old  Nero 
saw  the  danger,  and  set  up  a  dismal  howl.  A  few  mo- 
ments after,  he  slipped,  and  came  near  falling  into  the  fiery 
pit.  In  five  minutes,  an  animal  or  a  man  would  have  been 
baked  to  a  cinder.  Pursuing  our  way  by  the  four  craters, 
our  path  widened,  and  half  an  hour  more  brought  us  to 
the  top  of  the  mountain.  Our  purpose  was  accomplished  ; 
we  stood  on  the  summit  of  Mount  Hekla,  and  a  toilsome 
journey  it  had  been  for  us.  I  threw  myself  on  the  ground, 
and  took  a  look  at  the  scene  before  me.  The  top  of  the 
mountain  was  not  a  peak,  but  broad  and  nearly  flat,  with 
here  and  there  a  little  irregularity  of  surface.  It  was  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  across  in  one  direction — from  west  to 
east — and  some  fifty  rods  the  other  way.  In  several  places 
were  deep  snow-banks,  but  as  yet  we  saw  no  crater  on  the 
summit. 

It  was  now  two  o'clock,  it  having  taken  us  about  eight 
hours  to  make  the  ascent.  Though  we  saw  no  crater,  we 
had  very  direct  evidence  that  we  were  in  close  proximity 
to  volcanic  fires.  Little  eminences  of  lava  stood  up  around 
us,  from  which  smoke  issued ;  and  the  ground  under  our  feet 
felt  warm.     On  removing  the  earth  to  the  depth  of  two  or 


140  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

three  inches,  it  felt  hot ;  and  on  digging  down  anywhere  to 
the  depth  of  six  inches,  smoke  would  burst  out.  Six  inches 
deeper,  and  no  doubt  a  man  might  light  a  segar.  I  went 
close  to  a  bank  of  snow — to  have  something  to  cool  my 
punch — spread  out  my  tartan  plaid  on  a  warm  piece  of  lava, 
opened  my  knapsack,  sat  down  and  dined.  That  was  the 
loftiest  dinner  I  had  ever  partaken.  I  had  nearly  a  bottle 
of  claret  left,  and  a  small  drop  of  something  stronger.  The 
guides  had  a  bottle  of  milk,  the  snow  did  the  cooling,  and 
I  made  a  capital  lot  of  milk  punch.  I  drank  several  toasts ; 
gave  "  the  good  health  of  all  creation,"  toasted  "  the  girl  I 
left  behind  me,"  and  "  a  health  to  all  good  fellows."  Yes, 
and  I  thought,  too,  of  my  friends  far,  far  away ;  and  the 
distance  I  had  traveled,  and  must  travel  again  before  I 
could  see  them.  In  that  half  hour — in  that  dinner  on  Hek- 
la's  smoking  summit,  I  seemed  to  enjoy  a  sociality  in  the 
thought  of  friends  and  home,  that  I  would  not  suppose  a 
communion  with  one's  thoughts  in  solitude  would  bring. 
Nero  lay  at  my  feet,  the  guides  were  conversing  at  a  little 
distance,  the  lava  around  me  was  warm ;  and  after  a  little 
time  the  weather  cleared  up,  and  left  a  blue  sky  and  clear 
atmosphere,  with  a  full  opportunity  to  survey  the  won- 
drous panorama  of  nature  that  lay  spread  out  below  and 
around  us. 

A  little  way  to  the  east  was  a  slight  elevation.  To 
this  I  directed  my  steps.  Here  I  stood  on  the  highest 
summit  of  Mount  Hekla.  A  more  magnificent  prospect 
was  never  seen.  Iceland  was  spread  below  and  around  me 
like  a  map.     We  were  more  than  six  thousand  feet  above 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  141 

the  level  of  the  sea,  and  higher  than  the  tops  of  nearly 
every  mountain  in  Iceland.  To  the  west  and  northwest 
were  vast  green  tracts  of  meadow  land,  checkered  with 
hills  and  surrounded  by  mountains.  White,  shining  rivers 
intersected  the  valleys  and  plains  like  long  silver  ribbons. 
Far  in  the  north,  and  to  the  northeast,  were  the  snowy 
mountains,  not  in  peaks,  but  stretching  away  in  immense 
plains  of  brilliant  white,  and  glistening  in  the  sunshine. 

In  a  valley,  some  twenty  miles  to  the  northwest,  was  a 
beautiful  cluster  of  lakes,  the  water  often  of  a  deep,  green 
color  as  they  reflected  the  meadows  on  their  banks.  Now 
and  then  in  the  landscape  would  appear  the  Iceland  "  for- 
ests," like  patches  of  shrubbery  of  a  dark  green  hue.  Some 
hills  and  old  lava  districts  were  covered  with  heath,  now  in 
full  bloom,  and  clothing  the  land  in  a  robe  of  purple.  The 
surface  of  Hekla  itself,  and  the  ground  on  every  side,  some 
distance  from  the  base,  was  one  black  mass  of  lava.  To  the 
northwest,  and  near  at  hand,  rising  abruptly  from  the  plain 
to  the  height  of  2,500  feet,  was  Bjolfell,  a  bold  and  singu- 
lar-looking mountain.  A  dark  cloud  lay  in  the  southeast 
intercepting  the  view,  but  on  every  other  side  the  sky  was 
clear  and  the  prospect  uninterrupted.  To  the  south,  far  out 
to  sea — distant  about  forty  miles — were  the  Westmann 
Islands,  rising  abruptly  out  of  the  water  to  the  height  of 
more  than  2,000  feet,  and  showing  their  basaltic  cliffs  in  a 
clearly-defined  outline.  Cities,  villages,  and  human  habita- 
tions filled  no  part  of  the  landscape.  The  magical  purity 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  singular  character  of  this  vol- 
canic country,  make  a  view  from  the  top  of  Mount  Hekla 


142  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

one  of  the  most  extensive  and  varied  of  any  on  the  earth's 
surface.*  The  view  from  this  mountain  must  extend  more 
than  200  miles,  showing  a  visible  horizon  of  at  least  1,500 
miles  in  circuit.  Most  fortunately  the  day  was  beautifully 
clear;  and,  after  the  first  half  hour  on  the  summit — except  a 
bank  of  clouds  in  the  east — the  whole  country  was  visible. 
To  the  northeast,  seemingly  quite  below  us,  in  the  valley  of 
the  river  Tungna,  was  a  landscape  of  tiny  streams,  little 
lakes,  green  meadows,  and  heath-clad  hills.  One  small 
lake — the  Grcenavatn  (green  lake) — was  shaped  like  the 
moon  when  nearly  full,  and  looked  scarcely  larger  than  a 
saucer.  The  mountains  to  the  south,  the  lofty  Tindfjalla 
and  Eyjafjalla  Jokulls,  rose  up  in  separate  knobs  or  peaks, 
the  latter  justifying  its  name  of  "  mountain  of  islands." 

I  thought   I   never  should  tire   of  contemplating   the 
varied  scene  around  me. 

"  Though  sluggards  deem  it  but  a  foolish  chase, 
And  marvel  men  should  quit  their  easy  chair, 
The  toilsome  way,  and  long,  long  league  to  trace, 
Oh !  there  is  sweetness  in  the  mountain  air, 
And  life  that  bloated  ease  can  never  hope  to  share." 

Time    sped  too  quickly.     The    day    was   fast   wearing 
away,  and  much  yet  remained  to  be  seen  on  the  mountain 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  writer  has  ascended  ^Etna  in 
Sicily,  and  Vesuvius  in  Italy.  Though  these  countries  are  far 
richer  in  natural  productions,  and  abound  in  towns  and  cities,  and 
the  bay  of  Naples  is  proverbial  for  its  beauty,  yet  he  must  say 
that  the  view  from  Mount  Hekla  is  far  more  varied  and  beautiful 
on  account  of  the  clearness  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  variety 
of  the  mountain,  valley,  and  island  scenery. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  143 

top.  As  yet,  I  had  observed  no  crater  on  the  summit ;  but 
going  to  the  top  of  a  little  elevation,  about  one  hundred  yards 
from  my  dining  table,  it  yawned  before  me.  This  was  the 
principal  crater  of  the  mountain,  and  larger  than  all  the  four 
that  we  had  seen  on  our  way  up.  It  was  of  very  irregular 
form,  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  extent  one  way — a  long 
chasm  some  two  or  three  hundred  feet  deep— and  not  over  one 
hundred  yards  wide.  Some  parts  of  the  sides  were  perpen- 
dicular, and  smoke  was  coming  out  of  fissures  and  crevices 
in  many  places.  There  were  several  deep  snow-banks  in  it ; 
and  though  the  entrance  to  a  region  of  perpetual  u  fire  and 
brimstone,"  yet  there  has  been  no  eruption  from  this  crater 
for  ages.  We  rolled  some  stones  down  the  steep  side  of 
the  crater,  that  crashed  and  thundered  to  the  bottom,  and 
were  lost  in  a  vast  cloud  of  smoke.  The  guides  now  did 
nothing  without  urging ;  but  I  was  determined,  if  possible, 
to  go  down  into  the  crater.  We  went  to  the  east  end  of  it, 
where  the  descent  was  most  gradual,  and  on  a  steep  bank 
of  snow,  by  a  process  well  known  to  boys  as  "  sliding  down 
hill,"  we  soon  found  ourselves  at  the  bottom.  Rather  a 
risky  place,  inside  of  Hekla's  burning  crater ;  but  if  the  lava 
and  smoke  proved  too  warm  friends,  we  could  cool  off  by 
jumping  into  a  snow-bank. 

We  went  through  every  part  of  this  wonderful  pit,  now 
holding  our  hands  in  a  stream  of  warm  smoke,  and  again 
clambering  over  rocks,  and  standing  under  arches  of  snow. 
The  ground  under  our  feet  was  principally  moist  earth  ; 
the  sides  of  the  crater,  rock-lava,  and  in  many  places  loose 
slags  and  scoria?.     One  most  remarkable  basaltic  rock  lay 


144  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

near  the  center  of  the  crater.  It  was  spherical,  nearly  as 
round  as  a  cannon-ball,  and  about  twenty  or  twenty-five 
feet  in  diameter.  t  It  lay,  apparently,  entirely  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  ground,  and  though  of  compact  and  solid  struc- 
ture, there  were  small  cracks  all  over  it,  from  the  twentieth 
of  an  inch  to  a  quarter  of  an  inch  across.  Out  of  these  cracks, 
on  every  side  of  the  rock,  smoke  and  hot  steam  constantly 
issued.  The  ground  all  round  it  was  moist  earth  and  vol- 
canic sand,  and  showed  few  signs  of  heat.  Not  ten  feet  from 
this  rock  was  an  abrupt  bank  of  snow,  at  least  twenty  feet  deep. 
In  one  place  under  it  was  a  crevice  in  the  lava,  where  the  heat 
came  out ;  and  it  had  melted  away  the  snow,  forming  a 
beautiful  arch  some  ten  feet  high.  We  walked  under  it, 
and  found  streams  of  clear  water  running  from  the  snow. 
At  these  pure  fountains  we  filled  some  of  our  empty  bot- 
tles. For  the  benefit  of  any  future  travelers  here,  I  will 
mention,  that  had  it  not  been  for  my  own  curiosity  and  per- 
severance, I  never  should  have  gone  into  this  crater,  or  even 
have  seen  it  at  all.  My  mountain  guide,  the  farmer  of 
Noefrholt,  seemed  to  think  his  duty  performed  after  we 
were  once  on  top  of  the  mountain.  I  hunted  up  the  crater, 
quite  out  of  sight  from  where  we  arrived  on  the  broad  sum- 
mit of  the  mountain,  went  to  the  brink,  and  then  insisted 
on  descending  into  it.  After  getting  down  to  the  bottom 
of  the  crater,  a  way  selected  entirely  by  myself,  he  very 
coolly  informed  me  that  he  had  a  short  time  before  gone 
down  into  it  with  some  Danish  gentlemen.  After  I  had 
satisfied  my  curiosity  in  varied  explorations,  the  guide  pro- 
posed a  place  for  our  exit  on  the  west,  but  where,  I  am  sure, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  145 

had  we  attempted  an  ascent,  we  should  have  broken  our 
necks.  As  we  could  not  well  slide  up  the  hill  where  we 
had  slid  den  down,  I  proposed  an  egress  just  to  the  north  of 
our  enormous  smoking  boulder ;  and  it  was  so  terribly  steep 
that  I  thought  we  should  inevitably  tumble  back  into  the 
crater  after  we  were  nearly  to  the  top.  "  Festus"  while 
traveling  with  Lucifer,  says, 

"Let  us  ascend,  but  not  through  the  charred  throat 
Of  an  extinct  volcano." 

Not  so  with  us  :  we  did  come  straight  out  of  such  a 
"  charred  throat."  We  emerged  from  our  warm  pit,  di- 
rectly on  the  north  edge  of  the  mountain,  where  it  fell  off  a 
vast  distance  in  one  perpendicular  crag.  There's  a  kind  of 
fearful  pleasure  in  gazing  from  a  mountain's  craggy  summit. 

"And  there's  a  courage  which  grows  out  of  fear, 
Perhaps  of  all  most  desperate,  which  will  dare 

The  worst  to  know  it : — when  the  mountains  rear 
Their  peaks  beneath  your  human  foot,  and  there 

You  look  down  o'er  the  precipice,  and  drear 
The  gulf  of  rock  yawns, — you  can't  gaze  a  minute, 
Without  an  awful  wish  to  plunge  within  it." 

The  little  green  lake  lay  in  its  nest  like  a  drop  of  water, 
some  ten  miles  away,  and  the  majestic  Bjolfell  reared  its 
black  form  in  solemn  state  nearly  half  as  high  as  Hekla 
itself.  We  walked  clear  round  the  crater,  and  came  to  a 
deep,  broad  crack  in  the  lava,  that  we  had  to  leap  across, 
and  then  returned  to  the  place  of  our  ascent,  crossing  a 
broad  field  of  snow. 


146  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

This  snow  was  many  years  old,  and  from  five  to  thirty 
or  forty  feet  deep;  and  in  several  places  heat  came  from  the 
mountain,  and  melted  it  out  in  a  great  hole — the  shape  of 
an  inverted  potash-kettle.  I  thrust  my  pike  into  the  snow  ; 
and  on  withdrawing  it,  it  showed  that  deep  blue  tint  which 
I  had  supposed  was  only  seen  in  new  snow.  Having  gath- 
ered samples  of  all  the  lavas  that  I  had  seen,  and  loaded 
the  guides  with  them,  we  prepared  to  descend.  Our  last 
six  hours  of  the  upward  journey,  in  going  back,  was  per- 
formed in  two  hours.  Perhaps  the  loads  of  lava  that  the 
guides  carried,  increased  their  speed,  urging  them  along  in 
their  down-hill  course.  The  narrow  pathway  between  the 
craters  and  the  north  brink  of  the  mountain,  we  found  far 
less  dangerous  on  returning,  as  the  weather  was  clear  and 
the  wind  had  gone  down.  When  we  came  to  the  steep, 
sandy  side  of  the  mountain,  it  would  be  safe  to  believe  that 
we  went  down  pretty  middling  fast.  Perhaps  we  didn't 
run,  exactly,  but  it  was  a  specimen  of  rather  tall  walking. 

About  half  way  down,  I  drank  the  last  drop  of ,  the 

contents  of  my  pocket-flask.  "Farewell,  thou  lingering 
sweetness  !"  Our  horses — condemned  to  fast  or  eat  lava — 
had  gone  round  a  few  circles,  circumnavigating  one  another 
by  chasing  their  tails ;  but  they  had  not  journeyed  far. 
Leading  them  from  the  table-land  down  the  steep  accliv- 
ity, we  mounted :  their  hunger  gave  them  speed ;  and 
after  a  sharp  gallop,  we  arrived  at  the  farm-house  about 
ten  o'clock,  a  little  before  sunset,  having  escaped  the  dan- 
gers, and  enjoyed  the  novelty  of  the  loftiest  journeying  I 
had  spent  in  all  my  travels. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

Fire  that  art  slumbering  there, 

Like  some  stern  warrior  in  his  rocky  fort, 

After  the  vast  invasion  of  the  world  ] 

Hast  not  some  flaming  imp  or  messenger 

Of  empyrean  element,  to  whom 

In  virtue  of  his  nature  are  both  known 

The  secrets  of  the  burning,  central  void  below, 

And  yon  bright  heaven,  out  of  whose  aery  fire 

Are  wrought  the  forms  of  angels  and  the  thrones? 

Festus. 

Volcanic  eruptions  in  Iceland  have  presented  some 
remarkable  features.  There  are  volcanoes  that  are  much 
higher  than  any  in  this  country ;  but,  in  the  amount  of  lava 
thrown  out  at  one  time,  no  eruption  on  record  ever  equaled 
that  of  Skaptar  Jokull  in  1783.  A  notice  of  this  may  not 
be  considered  out  of  place.  In  May,  about  a  month  before 
this  eruption,  a  volcano  rose  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea, 
over  seventy  miles  from  land,  to  the  southwest  of  Cape 
Reykianes,  and  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
Skaptar  Jokull.  This  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable  sub- 
marine eruptions  ever  recorded.  It  formed  a  large  island, 
and  ejected  vast  quantities  of  pumice,  a  light,  volcanic  sub- 
stance that  floated  on  the  surface  of  the  water.  It  covered 
the  sea  for  more  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  in 
such  immense  quantities  that  ships  were  detained  in  their 


148  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

progress   while  sailing   along  the    coast.      The   sea-birds 
paused  and  screamed  in  their  wheeling  flight,  and  the  more 
adventurous   took    a    ride   on  a  new  volcanic  raft.      His 
Danish  Majesty,  on  hearing  of  a  creation  of  new  territory 
near  his  ancient  possession  of  Iceland,  sent  a  ship  with  or- 
ders for  its  immediate  annexation.     The  commander  took 
formal  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the  king.    But  the  end 
was  not  yet.     The  flag  of  Denmark  had  not  waved   above 
it  for  a  twelve-month,  before  it  sunk  back  into  the    ocean 
and  disappeared  forever.     Soon  after  this  eruption  in  the 
sea — from  the  first  to  the  eighth  of  June — violent  earth- 
quakes were  experienced  in  the  vicinity  of  Skaptar  Jokull, 
and  clouds  of  smoke  obscured  the  sun  for  some  days.     It 
was  often  so  dark  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  that  a  sheet  of 
white  paper  could  not  be  seen  when  held  up  before  the 
eyes.      An  immense  shower  of  ashes,  sand,    and  sulphur 
filled  the  air,  and  completely  covered  the  land.    It  poisoned 
the  vegetation,  destroying  every  green  thing  where  it  fell. 
Fortunately  the  wind  carried  it  to  the  south,  and  it  soon 
reached  the  ocean.     Incredible  as  it  may  seem,  this  shower 
of  ashes  and  sulphur  was  borne  over  the  Northern  Sea  to 
the  Faroe  Isles,  Shetland  and  Orkney,  entirely  over  Great 
Britain,  across  to  Holland,  and  far  on  to  the  continent  of 
Europe,  nearly  two  thousand  miles  from  the  place  where  it 
started.     Around  the  mountain,  for  many  miles,   darting 
flames  and  lightning  filled  the  air,  and  the  sulphur  flashed  and 
burned  far  up  into  the  heavens.  The  next  effect  produced,  was 
the  heat  of  the  volcano  melting  the  ice  that  had  shrouded 
it  for  centuries ;  and  this  caused  such  a  deluge,  that  the 


H AMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  149 

ivers,  particularly  the  Skapta,  overflowed  their  banks,  and 
submerged,  washed  up,  and  even  carried  away  farms.  On  the 
10th  of  June,  ten  days  after  the  first  symptoms  of  an  erup- 
tion appeared,  the  torrent  of  lava  burst  forth,  and  poured 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain.  This  followed  so  quickly 
after  the  flood  of  water,  that  in  less  than  twenty-four  hours 
the  river  was  entirely  dried  up,  and  people  walked  across 
its  bed,  where,  for  years,  it  had  only  been  passable  in  boats. 
While  the  fire  was  contending  with  the  water,  a  terrible 
and  deafening,  roaring  sound  was  heard,  and  immense  quan- 
tities of  steam  filled  the  air.  The  fiery  torrent  poured 
down  the  bed  of  the  river,  often  from  400  to  600  feet 
deep,  and  over  two  hundred  in  breadth.  Lightning 
flashed  through  the  heavens,  thunder  and  concussions  of 
the  earth  were  constantly  heard  and  felt,  and  the  volcano 
kept  up  a  continued  and  terrible  roaring.  In  its  course 
down  the  bed  of  the  river,  the  lava  came  to  an  immense 
chasm  or  pit,  into  which  for  many  hours  it  poured  with  a 
deafening  noise.  The  stream  of  lava  flowed  first  south, 
then  east,  destroying  farms,  houses,  and  churches,  and 
burning  up  the  thickets  of  wood  near  Kirkubcer.  Often 
great  chasms  in  the  earth  would  get  filled  with  the  melted 
lava,  and  then,  as  it  cooled  on  top,  the  heat  below  would 
cause  it  to  explode,  and  blow  large  masses  of  it  high  in  the 
air.  For  three  months  the  lava^continued  to  flow,  but  it  was 
not  until  the  next  February  that  the  mountain  ceased  throw- 
ing out  ashes,  sand,  flames,  and  hot  stones.  The  effects  of 
this  eruption  were  more  terrible  than  any  thing  of  the 
kind  that  ever  happened  in  Iceland.     The  showers  of  ashes, 


150  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

sand,  and  sulphur,  completely  destroyed  every  green  thing 
for  a  long  distance.  Another  most  singular  effect  of  this 
eruption,  extended  to  the  ocean.  The  fish  that  had  always 
frequented  the  coast,  were  entirely  driven  away,  and  never 
returned.  A  terrible  famine  ensued.  Within  two  years, 
over  190,000  sheep,  28,000  horses,  and  11,000  cattle,  died 
of  starvation.  About  10,000  inhabitants — one-fifth  of  the 
entire  population  of  the  island — perished  from  want  and 
exposure.  The  amount  of  lava  ejected  from  this  volcano 
was  probably  greater  than  that  of  any  eruption  of  the  same 
duration,  ever  recorded.  It  covered  a  tract  of  country  500 
square  miles  in  extent ;  and  had  it  lain  of  equal  thickness 
over  the  entire  surface,  would  have  been  over  300  feet  deep. 
The  lava  would  have  filled  the  channels  of  fifty  rivers  as 
large  as  the  Hudson  from  Albany  to  New  York. 

It  is  said  that  the  personal  appearance  of  a  certain 
quadruped  does  not  give  an  unfailing  indication  of  the 
distance  he  can  jump.  This  can  scarcely  be  true  of 
Skaptar  Jokull.  If  size  is  an  indication  of  power,  the 
vast  magnitude  of  this  mountain  would  seem  to  show  that 
its  eruptions  would  be  terrible.  It  is  over  one  hundred 
miles  in  diameter  at  the  base,  and  more  than  three  hundred 
and  thirty  in  circumference.  The  most  of  it  is  wrapped 
in  a  pall  of  eternal  snow,  and  centuries  sometimes  elapse 
without  an  eruption.  Inaccessible,  except  in  some  places 
around  the  edges,  it  appears  from  different  points  of  view 
like  several  distinct  mountains ;  and  in  different  parts  it 
goes  by  different  names.  On  the  west,  it  is  known  as 
Skaptar   Jokull ;    and    on   this    side    the    great   eruption 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  151 

occurred.  On  the  south,  it  is  called  Orsefa  Jokull ;  and  at 
this  point  it  is  the  highest  mountain  in  Iceland,  being  over 
seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Its  vast 
central  surface,  and  aJl  throughout  jts  northern  boundary, 
is  known  as  Vatna  Jokull  or  Klofa  Jokull,  and  is  supposed 
to  contain  in  its  hollows  large  pools  of  standing  water. 
This  particular  account  I  had  given  me  in  a  conversation 
with  Herre  Biarni  Gunnlaugson,  the  indefatigable  Ice- 
landic geographer,  who  traveled  over  every  part  of  Iceland 
for  a  period  of  twelve  years.  During  this  time,  he  saw  the 
entire  country,  and  gathered  the  information  and  executed 
the  drawings  for  his  most  elaborate  and  valuable  map  of 
the  island.  I  can  lay  claim  to  some  personal  acquaintance 
with  Skaptar  Jokull.  Standing  on  the  summit  of  Hekla,  I 
could  look  directly  over  nearly  the  entire  surface  of  the 
mountain.  It  does  not  rise  from  all  sides  to  one  peak  in  the 
center,  like  iEtna,  Stromboli,  Hekla,  and  Vesuvius ;  but  to 
the  eye  it  presents  the  appearance  of  one  vast,  glittering  plain 
of  snow.  The  few  travelers  who  have  ascended  the  jokulls 
of  Iceland,  have  described  them  as  presenting  immense 
cracks  in  the  snow  and  ice ;  making  their  ascent  more 
dangerous,  in  proportion  to  their  height,  than  probably  any 
other  mountains  in  the  world.  The  enormous  bulk  of 
Skaptar  Jokull  may  be  imagined  from  one  comparison. 
Were  it  as  steep  and  high  in  proportion  to  its  breadth 
of  base,  as  the  Peak  of  TenerirTe,  its  perpendicular  height 
would  be  more  than  ten  miles  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Next  to  this  mountain  and  Hekla,  the  most  noted  in 
Iceland  are  the  Eyjafjalla  and  Tindfjalla  Jokulls,  in  the 
south,  and  Snaefell  Jokull  in  the  west. 


152  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

As  an  instance  of  the  effects  of  volcanic  eruptions,  and 
also  of  the  inaccuracy  of  geographers  respecting  Iceland, 
one  fact  may  be  mentioned.  On  nearly  every  English 
or  American  map  where  Iceland  is  represented,  there  will 
be  noticed  a  large  lake  called  the  "  Fiske  Vatn,"  or  Fish 
Lake.  There  is  not  such  a  lake  in  existence,  nor  has  not 
been  for  many  years.  There  was  such  a  lake,  long  ago — 
I  have  not  the  date,  but  think  it  was  nearly  a  hundred 
years  since  ;  and  a  volcano  rose  up  from  the  bottom,  filled 
its  entire  bed,  and  literally  drank  it  up  at  a  draught ! 
Now  there  is  no  vestige  of  a  lake  in  the  vicinity  ;  but  there 
is  a  mountain,  and  I  saw  it.  It  lies  between  Hekla  and 
Skaptar  Jokull,  and  goes  by  the  name  of  Fiskivatnavegr, 
or  "  Fish-lake-mountain."  Nature  works  by  general  laws, 
but  this  particular  sample  of  its  work  seems  to  us  rather 
singular.  Now,  this  is  a  geographical  and  historical  fact, 
and  poetry  can  be  quoted  to  prove  things  that  are  quite  as 
strange.  Festus,  in  describing  his  tour  in  "giant-land," 
related  some  of  the  customs  of  the  inhabitants,  and  told 
how  they  lived. 


A  wheat-stack  here  would  but  mate 


One  loaf  of  bread  for  them.     Oak  trees  they  use 
As  pickles,  and  tall  pines  as  tooth-picks  ;  whales, 
In  their  own  blubber  fried,  serve  as  mere  fish 
To  bait  their  appetites.     Boiled  elephants, 
Rhinoceroses,  and  roasted  crocodiles — 
Every  thing  dished  up  whole — with  lions  stewed, 
Shark  sauce  and  eagle  pie,  and  young  giraffes, 
Make  up  a  pot-luck  dinner, — if  there's  plenty. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  153 

Student.  And  a3  to  beverage  ? 

Festus.  Oh !  if  thirsty,  they 

Will  lay  them  down  and  drink  a  river  dry, 

Nor  once  draw  breath. 

*  *  *  * 

*  *  When  death  takes  place, 

They  burn  the  bodies  always  in  a  lake, 
The  spray  whereof  is  ashes,  and  its  depths 
Unfathomable  fire." 

Now,  either  of  these  can  be  taken  to  prove  the  other, 
The  poetry  is  consistent,  for  it  agrees,  in  all  essential 
particulars,  with  the  natural  phenomena  in  this  case. 

Mount  Hekla  has  a  greater  celebrity  than  any  other 
mountain  in  Iceland,  owing  to  the  frequency  of  its 
eruptions.  All  of  these,  for  eight  hundred  and  fifty  years, 
are  said  to  be  recorded,  and  amount  to  twenty-four  in 
number.  They  have  averaged  about  three  in  a  century; 
and,  though  occurring  at  irregular  intervals,  at  no  time 
has  more  than  seventy-seven  years  elapsed  from  one  erup- 
tion to  another.     The  following  are  the  periods  of 

THE  ERUPTIONS  OF  MOUNT  HEKLA  SINCE  THE  YEAR  1000. 

Interval  between  the  eruptions. 
1. 

2. 

3. 
4. 
5. 
C. 


A.  D.  1004 

"  1029 

25  years 

"  1105 

16     " 

"  1113 

8  " 

"  1157 

44  " 

"  1206 

49  " 

154 


RAMBLES    IX    ICELAND. 


7. 

.   A.  D 

.  1222 

16 

years 

8. 

u 

1294 

72 

u 

9. 

.     u 

1300 

6 

u 

10. 

u 

1340 

40 

u 

11. 

u 

1374 

34 

« 

12. 

« 

1390 

16 

u 

13. 

u 

1436 

46 

u 

14. 

a 

1510 

74 

a 

15. 

a 

1554 

44 

u 

16. 

a 

1583 

29 

u 

17. 

u 

1619 

36 

a 

18. 

u 

1625 

6 

a 

19. 

u 

1636 

11 

a 

20. 

u 

1693 

57 

u 

21. 

u 

1728 

35 

u 

22. 

u 

1754 

26 

a 

23. 

il 

1766- 

68 

12 

a 

24. 

u 

1845, 

46 

77 

u 

According  to  the  Icelandic  records,  the  surface  of  the 
land  in  the  vicinity  of  Mount  Hekla  has  been  entirely 
changed  by  the  eruptions.  Formerly,  there  were  beautiful 
farms  on  every  side,  and  the  country  was  thickly  settled 
close  up  to  the  base  of  the  mountain.  The  successive 
eruptions  or  inundations  of  lava  have  covered  the  land 
for  many  miles  around,  with  a  charred  and  blackened 
mass. 

The  Icelanders  are  much  more  devoted  to  history  and 
poetry  than   to   exact   science ;    and  on   this  account  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  155 


various  eruptions  of  their  volcanoes,  and  other  remarkable 
natural  phenomena,  have  received  much  less  attention, 
and  been  recorded  with  far  less  accuracy  and  minuteness, 
than  historical  events.  Owing  to  this,  we  have  not  as  many 
records  of  their  volcanoes,  spoutings  prings,  and  submarine 
eruptions,  as  would  be  desirable.  Had  we  a  more 
extended  series  of  facts,  much  that  now  seems  irregular 
and  mysterious,  could  be  reduced  to  system. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

I've  traversed  many  a  mountain  strand, 
Abroad  and  in  my  native  land, 
And  it  bath  been  my  lot  to  tread, 
Where  safety  more  than  pleasure  led; 
Thus  many  a  waste  I've  wandered  o'er, 
Clomb  many  a  crag,  crossed  many  a  moor ; 

But,  by  my  halidome, 
A  scene  so  rude,  so  wild  as  this, 
It  ne'er  hath  been  my  lot  to  pass, 

Where'er  I  happ'd  to  roam. 

Scott. 

After  our  sojourn  of  two  days  in  explorations  of  Mount 
Hekla,  we  took  leave  of  the  farmer  of  Ncefrholt  and  his 
family,  and  traveled  towards  the  southwest  coast,  the  Rey- 
kir  Springs,  and  the  Sulphur  Mountains.  There  are  some 
pleasing  and  original  customs  among  the  Icelanders ;  and 
with  these  are  their  ways  of  saluting,  at  meeting  and  part- 
ing. Young  and  old,  male  and  female,  have  the  same 
affectionate  greeting  and  parting  compliments.  They  first 
shake  hands,  then  embrace  with  arms  about  each  other's 
necks,  and  then  bring  their  lips  in  close  contact.  I  have 
sometimes  fancied,  when  they  took  their  faces  apart,  that  I 
could  hear  a  slight  clicking  sound ;  but  this  might  have 
been  imagination.  When  I  have  been  kindly  entertained 
at  a  house,  and  especially  if  there  have  been  one  or  two 


.  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  157 

pretty  girls  in  the  family,  I  have  at  parting  adopted  the  same 
kind  of  salute.  Some  of  these  compliments  came  off  at  the 
base  of  Mount  HeMa  on  the  morning  of  July  30th.  This 
day  I  had  a  charming  ride.  Our  road  for  some  distance 
lay  through  a  wood,  and  I  have  before  spoken  of  the  stately 
grandeur  of  an  Iceland  forest.  In  addition  to  the  usual 
birch  and  willow  trees,  some  of  which  were  a  little  higher 
than  our  horses'  backs, %th ere  were  many  bearing  a  small 
berry — the  "  blue  berry  "  they  called  it ;  and  this  is  the 
only  thing  of  the  fruit  kind  in  all  Iceland.  They  are  eaten 
by  the  natives,  usually  with  milk  or  cream,  and  wherever 
they  are  found  are  highly  prized.  I  have  tasted  them,  but 
they  seem  almost  destitute  of  flavor.  It  takes  a  hot  sun  to 
give  flavor  to  fruit,  and  old  Sol  does  not  give  much  of  his 
caloric  to  this  country.  What  would  these  northern  peo- 
ple think  of  a  luscious  peach,  just  as  it  is  picked  from  a 
tree  in  New  Jersey  ?  One  species  of  rose  is  found  in  Ice- 
land— the  Rosa  Hibernica  ;  and  I  suppose  they  (the  roses) 
hardly  know  the  difference  between  Iceland  and  Ireland. 
I  have  frequently  observed  these  rose  bushes  here,  but  I 
have  never  yet  seen  them  in  flower.  A  rose  in  Iceland 
would  be  a  sight.     You  might  as  well  expect  to  see 

"  Roses  in  December,  ice  in  June." 

Here,  too,  we  found  that  most  beautiful  of  all  the  shrubs 
and  flowers  of  Iceland,  the  fragrant  heath.  It  is  very  plen- 
tiful, and  of  the  same  species  so  common  in  the  Highlands 
of  Scotland.  Here  it  is  of  small  size,  seldom  more  than  a 
foot  in  height.     It  is  one  of  the  first  vegetables  found  grow- 


158  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.   * 

ing  on  the  lava  beds.  It  seems  to  grow  on  a  medium  soil 
between  the  naked  barren  lava  and  the  fertile  meadows. 
Nearly  one  half  of  Iceland  is  covered  with  heath,  and  some 
day  it  may  be  fertile  enough  to  produce  grass.  I  have 
been  told  more  than  once  that  this  beautiful  shrub  will  not 
grow  in  North  America,  but  I  cannot  believe  it.  In 
Europe  and  the  northern  isles,  and  Africa  and  Madeira* 
there  are  over  a  hundred  different  varieties  of  heath.  Why 
will  not  some  horticulturists  rear  a  good  variety,  and  try 
them  from  various  climes,  Madeira,  Scotland,  and  Iceland, 
and  get  some  of  them  naturalized  with  us  in  America,  that 
they  might  cover  our  barren  hills  and  waysides,  and  adorn 
our  gardens  and  fields  ?  The  heath  and  the  ivy — two  plants 
almost  unknown  in  America — are  more  beautiful  and  do 
more  in  Great  Britain  to  cover  up  and  adorn  barren  hills 
and  old  walls  and  ruins  than  all  other  vegetation,  and  yet 
they  are  rarely  seen  with  us.  I  have  been  told,  however, 
that  the  late  lamented  Mr.  Downing  has  planted  and  natu- 
ralized the  beautiful  evergreen  ivy,  obtaining  it  from  Eng- 
land. Let  gardeners  and  farmers  blush  or  boast,  neither 
nature  nor  cultivation  has  adorned  our  hills  with  one  nor  ten 
plants  that  look  half  so  beautiful  as  the  blooming  heather 
that  covers  the  hills  of  far-off  northern  Iceland.  The  same 
species  that  grows  here,  I  have  seen  in  the  Orkney  and 
Shetland  Islands,  the  Hebrides,  the  Highlands  and  Low- 
lands of  Scotland,  England,  Ireland,  France,  Germany,  Hol- 
stein,  Denmark,  Sweden,  and  Norway.  It  also  grows  in 
Africa,  as  far  south  as  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  Cape 
heaths  forming  the  most  beautiful  varieties  of  floral  contri- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  159 

butions  that  are  seen  at  the  splendid  Chiswick  flower-shows 
in  London.  Wilkes,  in  his  Exploring  Expedition,  describes 
and  pictures  the  forests  of  heath  in  Madeira,  the  trees 
nearly  or  quite  a  foot  in  diameter,  and  forty  or  fifty  feet  in 
height.  I  have  an  idea  of  offering  a  prize  for  the  most 
beautiful  variety  of  heath  that  will  flourish  in  the  open  air 
in  our  Northern  States,  and  then  I  think  I  will  import  some 
Iceland  heath,  and  carry  off  the  reward  myself !  Perhaps 
some  of  our  horticultural  societies  will  take  the  hint,  go  to 
work,  and  get  it  all  done  before  I  get  back  to  America. 
Leaving  Ncefrholt,  we  took  our  back  track  as  far  as  Skarth, 
where  I  had  stayed  all  night,  and  slept  in  the  church  a 
few  days  before.  The  farmer  seemed  glad  to  see  me,  gave 
me  "  a  grip  of  his  flipper,"  and  a  fine  bowl  of  milk.  I  re- 
turned the  grip,  gave  him  a  piece  of  silver,  mounted  my 
horse,  and  off  we  galloped  to  the  southwest.  If  the  world 
was  not  "  all  before  us  where  to  choose,"  all  Iceland  was, 
and  on  we  journeyed.  Some  hours'  travel  brought  us  to 
the  banks  of  the  Thiorsa,  and  we  prepared  to  face  its  turbu- 
lent and  mighty  current.  Any  one  who  supposes  that  that 
little  white  spot  in  the  Arctic  sea,  called  Iceland,  cannot 
produce  a  river  worthy  of  the  name,  had  better  try  to  swim 
across  this  one.  I  should  far  rather  breast  the  Hellespont, 
and  follow  Leander.  Larger  than  the  Hudson  at  New- 
burgh,  swift  as  an  arrow,  white  with  clay  from  the  mount- 
ains, and  cold  as  ice, — really  it  is  the  most  formidable  stream 
in  appearance  that  I  have  ever  seen.  But  we  had  ferried  it 
once,  and  could  again  ;  and  a  frail  skiff  put  off  from  the 
opposite  shore  to  take  us  across.     The  only  ferryman  was  a 


160  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

small  boy,  and  so  I  manned  one  oar  myself.  The  guide  sat 
in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  and  led  the  horses  as  they  swam 
after  us.  The  boy  could  not  row  evenly  with  me ;  the  cur- 
rent bore  us  furiously  down  the  stream ;  the  boat  leaked 
badly  ;  and,  by  the  time  we  were  in  the  middle  of  the  river, 
the  horses  got  unmanageable,  nearly  upset  our  frail  craft, 
and  finally  broke  loose  altogether,  and  floated  and  swam 
down  the  stream,  the  tips  of  their  noses  and  their  ears  just 
out  of  water.  We  let  the  horses  go,  and  rowed  like  good 
fellows,  and  landed  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  but  a  good 
long  way  farther  down  than  the  point  opposite  where  we 
started.  The  poor  ponies  followed  the  boat  as  well  as 
they  could,  and  after  a  while  all  came  ashore,  some  in  one 
place,  and  some  in  another.  We  now  traveled  directly 
down  the  Thiorsa,  towards  the  south  coast,  bordering  the 
Atlantic.  We  had  a  fine  journey  through  the  valley  of  this 
great  river.  There  was  no  crossing  except  at  the  ferries ; 
but  the  fine  farming  region,  and  a  wish  to  get  a  near  view 
of  the  Westmann  Islands,  and,  if  possible,  visit  them,  in- 
duced me  to  make  a  long  and  circuitous  journey  on  the 
southern  coast.  The  weather  was  clear  and  fine,  and  Hekla, 
and  the  Eyjafjalla  and  Tindfjalla  Jokulls  stood  up  in  bold 
relief  against  the  eastern  sky.  The  Eyj  afjalla  Jokull,  as  its 
name  imports — Mountainof  Islands — shows,  on  its  broad, 
sloping  summit,  several  knobs  that  stand  up  like  islands. 
Near  the  top,  where  it  inclines  towards  the  west,  I  could 
see  a  broad,  deep  chasm,  filled  with  snow.  This  pit  must  be 
of  immense  depth,  for  while  it  is  nearly  filled  with  snow  it 
is  plainly  visible  for  over  thirty  miles.     On  the  more  even 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  161 

summit  of  the  Tindfjalla  Jokull,  there  are  several  little  ele- 
vations like  islands  or  miniature  mountains.     Hekla  looks 
black,  clear  to  the  summit,  except  now  and  then  a  small 
spot  of  snow.      I  do  not  know  where  those  writers  get 
their  information  from,  regarding  this  mountain,  when  they 
speak  of  the  "  three-coned  Hekla."     From  different  points 
of  compass,  including  nearly  every  position  whence  Hekla 
can  be  seen,  and  also  from  a  sojourn  on  its  summit,  I  must 
say  that  I  have  never  seen  three  cones,  nor  even  two.   From 
all  sides,  the  highest  point  rises  in  one  single  cone,  like  the 
profiles  of  most  other  volcanoes.     On  arriving  at  the  top,  it 
is  rather  broad  and  flat,  as  I  have  mentioned ;  but  this  is  not 
observed  from  a  distance.     It  is  steeper  than  ^Etna,  but  not 
so  steep  as  Vesuvius.      That  old  Madam  Pfeiffer  should 
speak  of  Hekla  as  having  three  cones,  and  no  crater  at  all, 
is  exactly  in  accordance  with  the  most  of  her  statements 
about  Iceland.     Where  she  does  not  knowingly  tell  direct 
falsehoods,  the  guesses  she  makes  about  those  regions  that 
she  does  not  visit — while  stating  that  she  does — show  her  to 
be  bad  at  guess-work,  and  poorly  informed  about  the  coun- 
try.    The  valleys  of  the  Hvita,  the  Thiorsa,  and  the  Mar- 
karfliot,  south,  southwest,  and  west  of  Hekla,  comprise  the 
largest  tract  of  grass  land  in  all  Iceland.     A  large  share  of 
it  is  in  cultivated  farms,  and  the  rest  is  bog.     In  drawing 
near  to  the  coast,  how  magnificent  the  Westmann  Islands 
appear !    Rising  up  like  columns,  they  stand  from  one  to  two 
thousand  feet  above  the  ocean.     Formed  of  perpendicular, 
basaltic   rocks,  these  and   other   islands  of  the  north  of 
Europe  rank  with  the  most  splendid  coast-scenery  in  the 
8 


162  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

world.  The  Westmann  Islands  are  most  difficult  to 
approach.  The  place  of  landing  is  so  treacherous,  that  un- 
less the  weather  is  calm  and  the  sea  very  still,  a  landing 
cannot  be  effected.  A  high  cascade  on  the  main  land  of 
Iceland,  near  the  town  of  Holt,  is  a  sort  of  weatherometer 
that  decides  whether  a  boat  can  put  off  with  a  prospect  of 
gaining  the  island.  This  cascade  is  one  long  stream  of 
spray,  formed  by  a  small  brook  falling  a  height  of  800  feet. 
In  windy  weather,  the  spray  is  blown  entirely  away,  so  that 
from  the  landing  no  cascade  is  in  sight.  If  it  is  still  enough 
for  this  cascade  to  appear  constantly  two  days  in  succes- 
sion, then  the  sea  is  usually  calm  enough  to  allow  boats  to 
land,  and  they  venture  out.  In  the  winter,  it  sometimes 
happens  that  for  weeks  no  boats  can  pass  between  the, 
islands  and  the  main  shore. 

The  Westmann  Islands — Icelandic,  Vestmannaeyjar — 
were  settled  by  a  colony  of  Irish  slaves,  in  875,  one  year 
after  the  first  settlement  of  Iceland.  A  Norwegian  pirate 
cruising  in  the  Atlantic,  came  upon  the  coast  of  Ireland, 
landed,  and  captured  forty  or  fifty  persons,  men,  women, 
and  children,  and  carried  them  off  as  slaves.  Before 
he  got  home,  they  rose  on  their  captors,  slew  them,  and 
went  ashore  at  the  first  land  they  met.  This  was  on 
the  largest  of  the  Westmann  Islands;  that  name  being 
given  them  by  the  Icelanders,  as  these  people  came  from 
the  west.  Christianity  came  here  with  these  Irish  people  ; 
and  to  this  day,  crosses,  croziers,  and  other  articles  of  a  like 
nature  are  dug  up  on  the  island,  and  were  undoubtedly 
carried  here  by  the  first  settlers.     The  islands  are  fourteen 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  163 

in  number ;  but  only  four  of  them  produce  any  vegetation 
or  pasturage,  and  of  these  only  one  is  inhabited.  This 
is  very  appropriately  called  Heimaey  or  Home  Island. 
This  is  fifteen  miles  from  the  coast,  and  forty-five  from 
Hekla.  On  this  island  is  a  harbor,  partly  encircled  by 
a  high,  perpendicular  rock.  Here  they  land  and  embark 
in  boats.  A  precipitous  path  leads  to  the  top  of  the  island, 
where  the  people,  with  their  habitations,  a  few  sheep,  and 
their  little  church,  remain  two  thousand  feet  above  the 
ocean.  The  islands  are  basaltic,  like  Fingal's  Cave  and  the 
Giant's  Causeway ;  but,  instead  of  being  one  or  two 
hundred  feet  in  height,  rise  like  immense  columns,  nearly 
half  a  mile  above  the  sea.  The  inhabitants  draw  their 
entire  subsistence  from  the  ocean  and  the  cliffs,  catching 
codfish  and  killing  sea-birds,  myriads  of  which  haunt 
the  rocks  of  their  sea-girt  shores.  The  sea-fowl  furnish 
large  quantities  of  feathers.  Some  of  the  birds  are  used  for 
food,  and  some  for  fuel.  They  split  them  open,  dry  them, 
and  then  burn  them,  feathers  and  all.  From  the  accounts 
given  of  this  novel  sort  of  firewood,  the  odor  rising  from  it 
must  be  "  most  tolerable,  and  not  to  be  endured  "  !  The 
birds  most  used  for  food  are  young  puffins — the  Fratercula 
arciica — a  rather  small  sea-bird,  with  a  bill  shaped  like  a 
short,  thick  plow  coulter.  In  England  and  Scotland,  they 
are  called  the  coulter  neb  puffin.  This  beak  is  a  most 
wonderful  one,  large  to  deformity — nearly  as  bulky  as  all 
the  rest  of  the  bird's  head.  There  are  several  circular 
marks  entirely  round  it,  making  it  look  like  a  small  barrel 
with  the  hoops  on  it.     But  do  not  these  hardy  islanders 


164  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

show  skill  and  daring  in  the  pursuit  of  birds  and  eggs 
for  subsistence  ?  Wonder  how  the  Yankees  would  take 
the  birds  ?  Shoot  them  with  rifles,  I  suppose,  "  knocking 
their  daylights  out,"  one  at  a  time.  But  these  islanders 
do  not  take  this  slow  method — not  they.  In  the  egg 
season  they  go  to  the  top  of  the  cliffs,  and,  putting  a  rope 
round  a  man's  waist,  let  him  down  the  side  of  the  perpen- 
dicular rock,  one,  two,  or  three  hundred  feet;  and  on 
arriving  at  the  long,  narrow,  horizontal  shelves,  he  proceeds 
to  fill  a  large  bag  with  the  brittle  treasures  deposited 
by  the  birds.  Getting  his  bag  full,  he  and  his  eggs 
are  drawn  to  the  top  by  his  companions.  If  the  rope 
breaks,  or  is  cut  off  by  the  sharp  corners  of  the  rocks, 
the  luckless  duck-egging  fowler  is  precipitated  to  the 
bottom,  perhaps  two  thousand  feet  into  the  sea,  or  is 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  below.  Accidents  happen 
but  rarely,  and  here  these  hardy  men  glean  a  scanty 
subsistence.  At  a  later  period  in  the  season,  they  go  and 
get  the  young  birds. 

If  the  old  birds  object,  they  are  ready  for  them,  and 
serve  them  sailor  fashion,  knocking  them  down  with  a 
handspike.  The  old  often  fight  desperately  for  their 
young,  and  will  not  give  up  till  their  necks  are  broken  or 
their  brains  knocked  out  with  a  club.  Where  the  cliffs  are 
not  accessible  from  the  top,  they  go  round  the  bottom 
in  boats,  and  show  a  wonderful  agility  and  daring  in 
climbing  the  most  terrible  precipices.  They  furnish 
nothing  for  export  on  these  islands,  except  dried  and  salted 
codfish  and  feathers.     With  these  they  procure  their  few 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  165 

necessaries  and  luxuries,  consisting  principally  of  clothing, 
tobacco  and  snuff,  spirits,  fish-hooks  and  lines,  and  salt. 
The  habit  of  living  entirely  on  fish  and  sea-fowl  produces 
a  disease  among  them,  that  carries  off*  all  their  children 
before  they  are  seven  years  of  age.  I  am  told  that  unless 
they  are  taken  to  the  main  shore  to  be  brought  up,  not  one 
single  one  would  live  through  childhood.  Some  well- 
informed  Icelanders  have  told  me  that  the  inhabitants 
of  the  Westmann  Islands  would  live  as  well,  and  be  as  free 
from  disease,  as  the  natives  of  Iceland,  were  it  not  for  their 
intemperance.  Give  a  people  few  or  no  luxuries — bread 
and  vegetables  as  food  being  almost  unknown — and  expose 
them  to  great  fatigue,  wet,  cold,  and  danger ;  and  would  we 
not  suppose  ardent  spirits  would  be  acceptable  ?  The 
inhabitants  of  the  far-off  St.  Kilda,  the  most  western  of  the 
Western  Isles  of  Scotland,  are  said  to  lose  all  their  children 
that  are  kept  on  the  island,  and  from  the  same  causes  that 
occasion  the  mortality  on  the  Westmann  Islands.  These 
islands  form  a  separate  Syssel  or  county,  and  they  have  a 
church,  and  usually  two  clergymen.  Their  church  was 
rebuilt  of  stone,  at  the  expense  of  the  Danish  government, 
in  1774,  and  is  said  to  be  one  of  the  best  in  Iceland. 
It  is  supported  by  tithes,  still  raised  here  according  to  the 
Norwegian  mode.  Christianity  was  brought  here  with  the 
first  settlers  from  Ireland,  and  here  it  still  remains  ;  and  I 
have  sometimes  wondered  if,  during  the  changes  of  a 
thousand  years,  any  of  the  brogue  of  the  Tipperary  boys, 
or  the  lads  of  Connaught,  could  be  discerned  in  their 
conversation.      Probably   it    has   all   been   frozen   up,    or 


166  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

exchanged  for  the  more  meliffluous  tones  of  the  followers  of 
Odin  and  Thor. 

Doubly  secure  as  these  inhabitants  are,  by  their  poverty 
and  their  almost  inaccessible  cliffs,  one  would  suppose  that 
they  would  be  secure  from  any  warlike  or  piratical 
depredations.  Notwithstanding  this,  they  have  twice  been 
attacked  and  pillaged  by  sea-rovers.  As  early  as  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  piratical  cruisers — many 
of  them  fitted  out  in  the  English  and  French  ports — came 
north  ;  and  plunder,  rapine,  and  murder  desolated  all  the 
western  and  southern  coasts  of  Iceland.  One  English 
pirate,  named  John,  was  noted  for  his  success  and  daring. 
He  was  called  "  Gentleman  John,"  being  probably,  like  the 
Greek  cruiser, 

"the  mildest  manner'd  man 

That  ever  scuttled  ship,  or  cut  a  throat 
With  all  true  breeding  of  a  gentleman." 

This  courteous  corsair  came  to  the  Westmann  Islands 
in  1614,  pillaged  the  church,  and  carried  off  their  sacred 
relics.  He  probably  knew  the  inhabitants  were  descendants 
of  the  Hibernians,  and  only  showed  the  spirit  of  an  English- 
man towards  the  Irish.  He  also  plundered  their  houses, 
and  no  doubt  from  the  contents  of  their  beds  managed 
to  feather  his  own  nest  considerably.  He  returned  to 
Great  Britain,  but  King  James  I.  caught  and  punished 
him,  and  with  the  true  honesty  of  a  Scotchman,  returned 
their  church  ornaments.  In  1627,  a  vessel  of  Turkish  or 
Algerine   pirates,  after   plundering   several  places  on  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  167 

eastern  and  southern  coasts  of  Iceland,  landed  on  the 
Westmann  Islands.  They  murdered  between  forty  and 
fifty  of  the  inhabitants,  plundered  the  church  and  set  it  on 
fire,  robbed  the  houses,  carried  off  all  the  food,  clothing, 
and  valuables,  and  then  burnt  their  habitations.  They 
took  near  four  hundred  men,  women,  and  children 
prisoners,  bound  them  in  fetters,  took  them  on  board 
their  vessel,  and  carried  them  in  captivity  to  Algiers. 
There  were  two  clergymen  among  them,  one  of  whom, 
Jon  Thorsteinson,  was  murdered  at  the  time.  He  was  the 
first  translator  of  the  Psalms  of  David  into  Icelandic  verse. 
He  also  translated  the  Book  of  Genesis,  and  some  other 
parts  of  the  Bible,  in  a  similar  manner.  He  is  spoken  of  in 
Icelandic  history  as  the  "  martyr."  The  other  clergyman, 
Olaf  Egilson,  with  his  wife  and  children,  and  the  rest  of  the 
prisoners,  were  sold  into  slavery  in  Algiers. 

Mr.  Egilson  got  away  two  years  after,  and  wrote  an 
account  of  their  sufferings  and  privations,  which  was 
afterwards  published  in  Danish.  It  was  not  until  1636, 
nine  years  after  their  capture,  that  the  unfortunate  Ice- 
landers were  released,  and  then  only  by  being  ransomed  by 
the  king  of  Denmark.  Their  treatment  and  sufferings  can 
be  imagined ;  only  thirty-seven  of  the  whole  number 
survived,  and  of  these  but  thirteen  persons  lived  to  regain 
their  native  island.  Notwithstanding  the  sufferings,  cala- 
mities, and  hardships  of  the  people,  the  Westmann  Islands 
continue  to  be  inhabited. 

Since  the  earthquakes  and  great  volcanic  eruptions  of 
1783,    the   fish   in   the   neighborhood   of  the  Westmann 


168  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

Islands,  and  all  along  the  south  coast  of  Iceland,  have 
nearly  all  disappeared,  so  that  the  principal  dependence  of 
the  inhabitants  is  on  the  sea-fowl.  Besides  the  puffin,  they 
use  for  food  the  fulmar — Procellaria  glacialis.  For  their 
winter  supply,  they  salt  them  very  slightly,  and  pack  them 
down  in  barrels.  I  wonder  how  one  of  these  poor  mortals, 
accustomed  to  so  little  variety,  would  relish  such  a  dinner 
as  they  serve  up  at  the  London  Tavern,  the  Astor,  or  the 
Revere  House  !  Thor  and  Epicurus  !  He  would  probably 
surfeit  himself,  unless  it  so  happened  that  he  could  relish 
none  of  their  dishes,  and  refused  to  eat. 

But  my  pony's  head  is  turned  towards  the  west,  and  I 
am  probably  as  near  the  Westmann  Islands  as  I  ever  shall 
be.  The  disappearing  spray  of  the  "Driving  Cascade" 
shows  a  rough  and  stormy  coast ;  so  good-bye  to  the  con- 
tented islanders,  their  sea-girt  cliffs,  and  their  sea-bird  food. 


CHAPTER    X1Y 


A  merrier  man, 


Within  the  limits  of  becoming  mirth, 
I  never  spent  an  hour's  talk  withal. 

SnAKSPEARE. 

My  ride  along  the  banks  of  the  Thiorsa,  before  my 
detour  to  the  south  coast,  near  the  Westmann  Islands,  was 
a  pleasant  one.  The  little  green,  turf-covered  hillocks — 
not  appearing  much  like  houses,  though  they  were  so — 
gave  an  air  of  solitude  to  the  landscape,  that  but  few  civil- 
ized countries  possess.  The  air  was  vocal  with  birds,  that 
constantly  flew  about  us.  The  mournful  note  of  the  plover, 
and  the  wild  scream  of  the  curlew,  were  constantly  heard, 
as  they  rested  on  the  signal-cairns  by  the  way-side,  or  flew 
away  towards  a  thicket.  These  birds,  as  well  as  the  ptar- 
migan, are  quite  plentiful  in  Iceland,  and  all  reckoned  as 
game-birds. 

A  man  could  travel  through  Iceland  in  the  summer, 
carrying  a  gun,  a  few  loaves  of  bread,  some  tea,  coffee,  and 
sugar,  get  plenty  of  milk  and  cream  at  the  farmers'  houses, 
and  shoot  game  enough  for  his  meat,  without  once  leaving 
his  horse.  Some  might  not  consider  it  a  great  luxury, 
after  a  hard  day's  ride,  to  sit  down  to  a  banquet  of  roasted 
raven,  a  fricasseed  hawk,  or  a  broiled  sea-gull ;  but  it  would 
be  quite  as  good  as  the  buzzard  soup  that  Prince  Achille 


1*70  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

Murat  used  to  get  in  Florida.  Some  nice  ptarmigan,  or 
plover,  with  a  piece  of  a  loaf,  tea  or  coffee,  and  butter, 
would  make  a  feast  that  many  a  traveler  would  be  glad  to 
have.  Then,  too,  in  the  interior  are  large  herds  of  wild  rein- 
deer, where  a  good  marksman  could  select  a  nice  piece  of 
venison.  Henderson,  the  missionary,  saw  a  large  flock, 
that  approached  quite  near  him  before  offering  to  retreat. 
White  and  blue  foxes,  seals,  and  sometimes  an  importation 
of  white  bears  from  Greenland,  who  not  unfrequently  float 
over  on  fields  of  ice,  might  afford  a  little  sport,  and  per- 
haps profit,  but  would  be  rather  tough  eating.  I,  however, 
carried  no  arms,  except  the  "  pickers  and  stealers "  that 
Dame  Nature  furnished  me ;  so  I  did  not  speak  to  the  birds 
in  the  loud  tones  of  villainous  saltpetre.  I  have  had  my 
murderous  propensities — nurtured  when  a  lad,  by  shooting 
crows  and  squirrels — the  most  excited  here,  in  Iceland,  by 
some  old  ravens,  who  seemed  to  me  to  act  with  a  very  un- 
becoming familiarity.  These  birds  were  sacred  to  Odin, 
and  I  believe  the  Icelanders  never  molest  them.  Odin  had 
two,  one  for  memory,  and  the  other  for  news.  They  used 
to  fly  abroad  during  the  day,  and  return  at  night,  bringing 
intelligence  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  One  would  perch 
on  his  right  shoulder,  and  the  other  on  his  left,  and  relate 
to  him  every  thing  that  was  going  on,  at  the  same  time  re- 
freshing his  memory  in  regard  to  past  events.  The  old 
Scandinavians  never  used,  to  make  a  voyage,  or  go  a  jour- 
ney, without  them.  Floki,  a  Norwegian  pirate,  one  of  the 
first  settlers  of  Iceland,  took  three  of  them  with  him  when 
he  started  on  his  voyage,  taking  them  as  pilots,  to  show 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  17 1 

hiin  the  way.  After  getting  some  distance  beyond  the 
Faroe  Isles,  he  let  off  one,  and  he  returned  to  Faroe.  Sail- 
ing awhile  longer,  he  sent  off  another ;  and,  after  a  wide  cir- 
cuit in  the  air,  he  returned  to  the  ship.  Sailing  some  days 
more,  he  released  the  third  ;  and  he  flew  away  to  the  north- 
west. Following  him,  he  soon  reached  the  coast  of  Iceland. 
There  seems  to  be  a  pair  of  these  birds  living  near  almost 
every  house  in  Iceland.  I  have  never  seen  a  church,  with 
a  house  near  by,  where  there  was  not  a  pair  of  ravens. 
They  seem  to  be  a  much  larger  bird  here,  than  any  of  the 
kind  that  I  ever  saw  in  America.  At  the  little  church  and 
farm-house  of  Haukadalr,  near  the  Geysers,  were  two ;  and 
they  would  often  alight  on  the  church,  and  sometimes  on  a 
gate-post,  but  a  few  feet  from  me.  One  of  them  showed  a 
great  aversion  to  Nero,  and  would  sometimes  swoop  down, 
and  nearly  hit  the  dog's  head.  Believing  him  to  be 
nothing  but  a  heathen,  I  had  a  most  Christian  wish  to  send 
a  bullet  through  him.  But  my  Colt's  pistol  was  far  away, 
and  his  black  ravenship  could  worship  Odin,  Thor,  or  any 
other  deity  he  pleased. 

If  these  birds  are  not  Christians,  there  is  one  excuse  for 
them.  They  are  very  long-lived,  and,  perhaps,  having  a 
distinct  recollection  that  some  of  the  buildings  now  used  as 
places  of  worship,  were  built  and  used  for  worship  during 
the  days  of  idolatry  and  heathenism,  they  have  been  uncon- 
scious of  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  The  ravens 
here  have  the  same  costume  as  in  other  countries,  dressing 
in  the  "inky  cloak,"  and  "customary  suits  of  solemn 
black."     Their  language,  too,  always  being  uttered  in  slow 


172  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  solemn  tones,  adds  to  their  appearance  of  gravity  and 
•wisdom. 

But  as  for  the  corbies,  the  corn-fed  pirates  !  they  never 
come  here.  A  crow  was  never  seen  in  Iceland.  Here, 
there  are  no  grain-fields  to  plunder,  nor  trees  to  build  their 
nests  in.  Ill-bred  rascals,  living  on  bread-stuffs,  were  they 
to  come  here  and  ask  for  a  loaf,  they  would  get  a  stone. 

In  my  journey  to-day,  I  passed  near  Skalholt,  situated 
in  the  forks  of  the  Bruara  and  the  Hvita  rivers.  This 
place,  dignified  with  the  title  of  the  "  capital "  of  Iceland, 
in  most  of  the  books  of  geography  that  I  have  seen,  is 
simply  a  farm,  and  contains  the  ruins  of  one  small  cathe- 
dral church,  where  one  of  the  bishops  of  Iceland  used  to 
officiate.  It  is  now  only  interesting  as  a  locality  connected 
with  the  ecclesiastical  history  of  the  country.  On  the 
banks  of  the  mighty  Thiorsa,  I  traveled  some  distance.  I 
find  it  difficult  to  leave  this  river.  I  like  its  roaring,  tur- 
bulent torrent — to  look  at — wouldn't  like  to  swim  it 
though,  unless  I  desired  a  much  colder  bath  than  I  have 
been  accustomed  to.  I  believe  it  would  be  difficult  to  find 
a  river  of  the  magnitude,  or  strength  of  current,  of  this,  in 
an  island  that  only  contains  40,000  square  miles.  The 
Thiorsa  is  nearly  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  long,  falls  over 
3,000  feet  in  less  than  sixty  miles,  and  carries  far  more 
water  to  the  ocean  than  the  Hudson  does. 

We  left  the  river  near  the  church  of  Olafsvell,  and  bore 
away  to  the  west,  through  meadows  and  farms,  and  one 
large  tract  of  lava.  On  our  left,  for  some  distance,  it  was 
all  lava  ;  and  on  the  right  was  a  range  of  hills  and  mount- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  1*73 

ains.  Our  prospective  stopping-place  for  the  night,  was  at 
the  house  of  the  sysselman  of  the  district ;  and,  a  part  of 
the  day  having  been  rainy,  I  did  not  care  how  soon  we 
arrived  there.  The  roads  were  tolerably  good — that  is,  for 
Iceland — and  custom  had  made  a  seat  in  the  saddle  for 
eight  or  ten  hours  in  the  day,  a  comparatively  easy  exercise. 

But,  ho !  the  sysselman's  house  appears  in  sight.  Some 
large  flocks  of  ptarmigan  seemed  to  be  tokens  of  good  cheer 
and  comfortable  quarters.  Riding  up  a  long  lane  between 
fences,  we  arrived  at  the  house,  a  fine  framed  building,  and 
the  only  house  I  had  seen  in  some  time,  that  appeared  fit 
for  the  home  of  a  Christian.  Round  it  were  out-buildings, 
and  a  large  number  of  hay-stacks.  The  afternoon  had 
cleared  off  finely ;  and  the  shining  of  the  western  sun,  and 
the  presence  of  a  good  many  well-clad  people  and  children 
— some  piling  up  the  fragrant  hay — made  one  of  the  most 
pleasant  and  comfortable  scenes  that  can  be  imagined. 

We  dismounted,  and  the  guide  went  among  the  men, 
and  first  spoke  to  a  clerical-looking  personage,  dressed  in 
black.  He  next  saw  and  talked  with  the  sysselman,  who 
was  giving  directions  about  gathering  and  stacking  the 
hay*  The  guide  returned  to  me,  and  I  understood  him  to 
say  the  man  in  black  was  the  parish  clergyman.  Still  the 
sysselman  did  not  come  near  me;  but  he  was  busy,  and  his 
tardiness  was  only  the  prelude  to  a  most  hearty  welcome ; 
for  he  finally  came  forward,  and  shook  me  cordially  by  the 
hand,  an  operation  he  repeated  several  times  while  walking 
towards  the  house.  He  was  a  native  Icelander,  tall,  well- 
dressed,  and  a  man  of  intelligence.    He  spoke  some  English, 


1*74  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  was,  evidently,  a  right  down,  merry,  hospitable  good 
fellow.  Opening  the  front  door  of  his  house,  he  ushered 
me  into  his  parlor,  a  well-furnished  room,  having  chairs, 
sofa,  a  fine  carpet,  and  on  the  walls  several  pictures,  look- 
ing-glass, &c,  &c. 

Here  I  was  in  clover,  for  once.  Visions  of  down-beds, 
a  plastered  and  papered  room,  and  capital  cheer,  crowded 
thick  and  fast  upon  me.  The  good  cheer  was  not  long 
coming,  either — for  wine,  brandy,  hot  water,  sugar,  glasses, 
silver  spoons,  et  cetera,  and  sugared  cakes,  soon  covered 
the  table.  He  spoke  most  every  language  under  heaven,  I 
have  no  doubt ;  but  to  me  it  seemed  a  mixture  of  Danish, 
English,  Latin,  Greek,  Icelandic,  and  French,  with  some 
broad  patches  straight  from  Babel,  that  my  learning 
couldn't  exactly  sort  out.  The  priest  too  was  present;  and 
mine  host  characterized  him  as  a  finished  scholar,  and  one 
who  could  talk  excellent  Latin.  His  lingo,  though,  was  many 
removes  from  the  language  of  Cicero  and  Horace.  The 
sysselman  poured  out  some  brandy,  and  mixed  a  glass  of 
punch ;  and  so  did  I ;  and  so  did  the  preacher ;  and  we 
sipped  it.  I  had  often  heard  of  the  Iceland  sysselmen,  and 
their  hospitality  to  travelers  ;  but  this  was  my  first  experi- 
ence of  it,  and  it  went  clear  up  to  the  portrait  my  imagina- 
tion had  drawn. 

We  drank  and  ate ;  and  he  took  me  through  his  house, 
showed  me  his  library,  his  sleeping  rooms,  his  handsome 
wife,  and  several  rosy- cheeked,  well-dressed  children.  He 
showed  me  an  octavo  volume,  the  journal  of  their  Althing 
or  Assembly ;  and  I  saw  his  name  among  the  national  legis- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  1*75 

lators,  where  he  had  figured  as  a  statesman.  He  took 
down  from  his  library  a  life  of  Lord  Byron,  in  Danish,  with 
portraits,  and  extracts  from  his  works  in  English  and  trans- 
lated, and,  writing  my  name  in  it,  gave  it  to  me.* 

Meantime,  the  liquor  seemed  to  improve  him.  He 
gradually  grew  mellow ;  was  first  kind,  then  cordial,  then 
sociable,  then  talkative,  then  argumentative,  then  jolly, 
then  affectionate,  then  drunk — or  at  least  rather  "how 
come  you  so  ? "  We  walked  out  doors,  and  saw  his  people 
building  hay-stacks.  It  was  a  beautiful  approaching  sun- 
set. I  ran  and  jumped  on  to  a  half-finished  stack,  to  see 
how  it  was  formed ;  but  I  came  off  again  pretty  quick,  and 
found  I  had  a  small  brick  in  my  hat !  No  matter,  how- 
ever, considering  the  day's  travel  was  over.  The  guide, 
though,  didn't  take  the  saddles  off,  and  only  opened  one  of 
the  trunks  to  get  a  book  I  wished  to  show  the  sysselman. 
It  seemed  barely  possible  we  were  not  to  stay  all  night  here, 
after  all.  In  fact,  he  hadn't  asked  me  to  stay.  He  would 
not  have  had  to  ask  me  but  once.  Our  friend  in  the  cleri- 
cal garb  became  very  merry  too.  He  made  signs  of  depar- 
ture, but  seemed  waiting  for  me.  Was  it  possible  we  were 
not  to  stay  all  night  at  the  sysselman's  ?  The  guide  had 
all  day  told  me  we  should.  But  the  fact  began  to  stare 
me  in  the  face  :  so  did  a  very  extensive  bog  meadow, 
directly  to  the  west.  But  the  sysselman  didn't  ask  me  to 
stay  all  night.     I  wished  he  had.     But  he  didn't.     And 

♦The  presentation  read  thus:  "Tie  Herre  Pliny  Miles,  Ra- 
burky,  fra  New  York ;  erkjendtligst  fra  Th.  Gudmundsen,  Syssel- 
mandi,  Arnes  Sysla,  30  Juli,  1852." 


176  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

our  horses  were  led  to  the  door,  and  the  saddles  adjusted, 
and  every  thing  got  ready  ;  and  we  mounted  and  rode  off. 
The  jolly,  clerical-looking  chap  accompanied  us  ;  though 
he  was  no  clergyman  at  all,  but  a  drunken  ferry-man,  who 
lived  on  a  river  a  long  way  to  the  west.  He  was  to  be 
our  guide  over  the  interesting  bogs,  to  some  very  nice  cara- 
vansera,  no  doubt ;  but  where  it  could  be,  I  neither  knew 
nor  did  I  inquire.  We  left — we  did — and  I  gave  my  kind 
entertainer  a  very  affectionate  and  cordial  good-night.  He 
is  a  merry,  hospitable,  good  fellow,  I  am  sure ;  but  I  didn't 
repose  under  his  eider-down. 

Our  ride  was  a  cheering  one — in  a  horn !  And  miles 
we  traveled,  and — and — and — wait  till  the  next  chapter, 
and  we'll  see  what. 


CIIAPTEK    XT. 

Our  indiscretion  sometimes  serves  us  well, 

When  our  deep  plots  do  pall ;  and  that  should  teach  us 

There's  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends, 

Rough-hew  them  how  we  will. 

Hamlet. 

No,  I  did  not  stay  at  the  sysselman's;  but  I  had  a  ride 
of  a  couple  of  hours,  through  a  bog  meadow,  and  arrived 
about  sunset  at  Hraungerthi — Islandsk — "  Garden  of  Lava." 
This,  like  many  other  towns  that  may  be  seen  laid  down 
on  the  map  of  Iceland,  contains  nothing  but  a  farm  and 
farm-house,  the  residence  of  a  clergyman,  and  his  church. 
The  pastor  owns  the  farm  and.  pastures,  and  labors  in 
his  own  vineyard,  as  well  as  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord. 
During  the  week  he  looks  after  his  flocks  and  herds; 
and  on  Sunday  he  gathers  his  own  little  flock  of  im- 
mortals together,  and  tells  them  of  the  green  meadows  and 
still  waters  that  lie  in  the  domain  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
in  that  bright  realm  where  winter  never  comes,  and  where 
earthquakes  and  volcanoes  are  heard  not.  The  clergyman 
of  this  district  is  Herre  Sigurthur  Thorarensen,  and  I  soon 
found  I  had  lost  nothing  by  leaving  the  sysselman's  to 
come  under  his  hospitable  roof.  He  was  not  a  bon  vivant 
and  a  "  jolly  good  fellow ; "  but  he  was  a  man  of  sense  and 
learning,  a  Christian  and  a  philosopher.     He  spoke  Latin 


178  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

excellently ;  and  his  son,  Stefan  Thorarensen,  could  converse 
fluently  in  English,  as  well  as  in  four  or  five  other  langua- 
ges. I  know  not  when  I  have  enjoyed  myself  as  pleasantly 
and  profitably  as  in  my  visit  at  this  hospitable  mansion.  I 
soon  found  that  I  had  gained,  not  lost,  by  coming  here,  and 
that,  as  in  many  other  cases,  what  seems  to  be  a  misfortune 
or  inconvenience  turns  out  for  the  best 

Mr.  Thorarensen  had  a  fine  library  of  books  in  various 
languages,  and  a  copy  of  the  large  and  elegant  map  of  Ice- 
land that  had  been  lately  published.  His  house  had  excel- 
lent furniture,  and  he  was  everyway  as  well  lodged  as  his 
official  neighbor,  the  sysselman.  The  church,  a  few  steps 
from  the  house,  was  a  neat  wooden  building ;  and  in  it  were 
two  monumental  tablets — rather  unusual  in  Iceland — one 
with  an  inscription  in  gilt  letters  to  the  memory  of  Mr. 
Thorarensen's  late  wife.  Every-thing  in  and  about  this 
church  was  in  excellent  order  and  good  taste.  Around  the 
church  were  small,  green  mounds,  where — 

"The  rude  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 

Not  a  "  head-stone,"  a  "  piece  of  mouldering  lath,"  or  single 
mark  or  inscription  was  seen.  Nothing  but  the  little  grass- 
grown  mounds  erected  over  the  dead  in  one  of  their 
churchyards.  How  simple  such  a  mode  of  burial !  Shall 
any  of  these  be  forgotten  at  the  sound  of  the  last  trump  ? 
Would  a  "  storied  urn  or  animated  bust"  give  them  a  surer 
passport  to  heaven,  or  make  the  sleepers  sleep  more  soundly  ? 
Would  a  lying  epitaph  cheat  the  Great  Jehovah,  or  be  ad- 
missible testimony  at  heaven's  bright  gate  ?      Sleep  on  ! 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  1^9 

"All  that  breathe  shall  share  thy  destiny."  All  shall  "mix 
forever  with  the  elements,"  or  be  a  portion  of  "  the  clod 
that  the  rude  swain  turns  with  his  share  and  treads  upon." 
When  time  comes  to  an  end,  and  the  earth  is  withered  up 
like  a  scroll,  fame  will  say  as  much  for  these  humble  island- 
ers as  for  the  proud  sons  of  genius  in  more  genial  climes — 
those  whose  names  adorn  marble  columns  and  gilt  title- 
pages. 

Mr.  Thorarensen  and  his  son  showed  me  their  farm,  a 
very  neat,  well  conducted  one,  and  gave  me  a  good  deal  of 
information  respecting  the  modus  operandi  of  farming  in 
Iceland. 

The  great  bar  to  improvement  here,  as  in  most  old 
countries,  is  the  objections  the  people  make  to  change 
old  customs.  On  the  banks  of  the  Nile  and  in  Syria, 
in  the  days  of  Moses  and  Aaron  and  in  Solomon's  time, 
they  plowed  with  a  crooked  stick,  and  for  a  team  used 
a  cow  yoked  to  a  camel,  or  a  ram  harnessed  to  a  donkey. 
To  the  present  day,  the  cow  and  camel  and  crooked  stick 
scratch  up  the  ground  in  Syria.  In  Iceland,  in  the  days  of 
the  Vikings,  they  had  no  plows,  but  dug  up  their  fields 
with  a  spade  or  a  piece  of  iron.  The  spade  is  used  to  this 
day,  and  the  plow  is  still  unknown.  In  the  garden  here  at 
Hraungerthi,  I  saw  Swedish  turnips,  potatoes,  cabbages, 
lettuce,  radishes,  parsle}^,  caraway,  horse-radish,  angelica, 
and  some  other  vegetables. 

One  great  difficulty  with  them  in  their  gardening,  is  the 
want  of  seed.  Their  seasons  are  often  short,  and  the 
vegetables,  though  grown  sufficiently  for  the   table,   fre- 


180  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

quently  will  not  go  to  seed  ;  so  that  they  must  obtain 
fresh  supplies  every  year  from  Denmark.  Aside  from  the 
expense  of  this,  the  vessels  that  come  from  Denmark  to 
some  of  the  Iceland  ports  arrive  but  once  or  twice  in  the 
year ;  and  an  order  for  any  article  from  Copenhagen 
cannot  be  executed  unless  given  six  months  or  a  year 
beforehand — often  a  longer  peiiod  than  a  man  will  know 
his  wants.  Accustomed  as  I  had  been  to  see  plenty  of 
vegetables,  it  did  not  seem  like  good  living  to  find  few 
articles  of  food  except  beef  and  mutton,  fish,  milk,  butter, 
cheese,  curds,  tallow,  and  lard — all  animal  food — with  now 
and  then  a  little  black  bread,  or  barley  porridge.  At  Mr. 
Thorarensen's,  I  had  set  before  me  a  fine  piece  of  roast 
lamb,  coffee,  wheat  bread,  Danish  butter,  and  good  wine. 
These  articles,  however,  are  not  all  found  in  the  houses  of 
the  poorer  classes  of  Iceland.  They  can  all  have  mutton 
and  beef,  and  coffee  is  a  common  beverage,  and  Danish 
brandy  is  rather  too  common.  The  most  of  the  Icelanders 
indulge  rather  freely  in  the  use  of  tobacco  (snuff)  and 
brandy.  Having  few,  or,  I  may  say,  no  amusements,  and 
families  often  living  so  far  apart,  that  for  five  or  six  months 
— the  winter  season — their  nearest  neighbors  are  not 
seen,  can  it  be  wondered  at  that  some  excitement  to  the 
animal  spirits  will  be  sought  from  stimulants  ?  I  never 
saw  a  man  intoxicated  in  Iceland,  and  am  sure  drunk- 
enness is  not  common  ;  but  the  poorer  classes  do  often 
indulge  in  too  much  strong  drink.  They  generally  keep 
a  bottle  at  the  head  of  their  beds  ;  and  when  I  have  slept 
in  the  huts  of  the  farming  peasants — not  the  better  classes — 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  181 

I  have  always  found  a  bottle  of  brandy  under  the  pillow, 
or  at  the  head  of  the  bed  ;  not  probably  placed  there  for 
their  guest,  but  as  its  usual  resting-place.  I  have  some- 
times gone  into  a  slight  nosological  investigation  of  the 
contents,  but  have  never  pursued  the  subject  farther.  Per- 
haps I'll  "look  into  it"  at  some  future  time.  I  once, 
while  sleeping  in  a  farm-house,  waked  up,  and  saw  an  Ice- 
lander, in  another  bed  in  the  same  room,  pull  a  bottle  out 
from  under  his  pillow,  and  give  a  long  pull  at  the  contents, 
then  lie  down  again.  I  profess  a  complete  innocence  and 
ignorance  respecting  the  peculiar  qualities  of  the  Danish 
brandy  drunk  in  Iceland.  If  it  is  not  better  than  some  of 
the  "  good  and  evil  spirits  "  seen  in  some  parts  of  the  world 
— Western  United  States,  for  example — then  I  should 
hardly  care  to  cultivate  a  close  acquaintance.  I  never  had 
a  "  pull "  at  one  of  these  "  bottle  imps  ;"  but  I  have  drunk 
champagne  with  His  Excellency  the  governor  of  Iceland, 
and  had  a  very  excellent  glass  of  port  wine  with  mine  host 
of  Hraungerthi. 

I  said  the  Icelanders  took  snuff.  They  do  ;  and  a  way 
peculiar  to  themselves  they  have  of  taking  it.  Their  snuff- 
boxes are  much  like  a  Scotch  snuff-mull.  I  have  seen 
them  made  of  the  horn  of  a  goat,  a  calf,  or  a  yearling,  and 
sometimes  ivory — the  tusk  of  a  walrus  or  a  sea-horse — and 
elegantly  tipped  with  silver.  They  take  a  little  stopper  out 
of  the  small  end,  and  pouring  out  two  little  parcels  of  it  on ' 
the  back  of  the  left  hand,  apply  each  nostril,  one  after 
the  other,  and  snuff  it  up.  It  is  very  quickly  done,  and 
quite  as  neatly  as  the  method  we  are  accustomed  to  see 


182  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

with  us.  That  is,  comparatively  speaking;  for,  in  strict 
truth,  I  will  scarcely  allow  the  applicability  of  any  inter- 
pretation of  the  word  neat  to  a  practice,  one  of  the  most 
filthy — chewing  always  excepted — that  ever  besmeared  and 
disgraced  human  nature.  I  should  have  been  glad  to  have 
been  able  to  report  the  Icelanders  free  from  this  vice  ;  but 
in  this  they  have  been  contaminated  by  habits  introduced 
from  older  civilized  countries,  and  the  truth  must  be  told. 
Smoking  is  not  so  common,  though  pipes  and  segars  are 
often  seen  in  the  sea-port  towns. 

Respecting  cultivation  on  the  Iceland  farms,  the  term 
is  scarcely  applicable.  The  meadow  lands  are  rough  by 
nature,  and  they  make  it  still  more  so  by  the  way  they  put 
manure  on  it,  leaving  it  in  heaps.  I  am  told  that  the  Ice- 
landers imagine  that  more  grass  will  grow  on  any  given 
number  of  acres  if  the  surface  is  uneven,  from  the  fact  that 
there  is  more  area.  They  forget  that  the  grass  grows  per- 
pendicularly, and  that  no  more  blades  can  stand  on  an  un- 
even than  on  an  even  surface.  Then,  too,  it  is  so  very 
uneven,  that  the  turf  is  broken  in  many  places,  and,  of 
course,  produces  less  than  as  if  there  were  a  level,  unbroken 
turf.  Better  counsels,  however,  are  beginning  to  prevail ; 
and  many  farmers  are  leveling  down  their  meadows,  and 
improving  their  farms ;  and  they  find  on  trial  that  level 
land  produces  more  than  that  which  is  covered  with 
hillocks. 

Here,  at  Hraungerthi,  I  saw  considerable  timber,  and 
asking  how  it  was  conveyed  here,  was  told  that  it  was 
brought  on  the  backs  of  ponies,  just  as  every  thing  else  is 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  183 

carried.  Not  very  large  timber,  some  that  is  four  inches 
square,  and  twelve  to  eighteen  feet  long,  is  carried  long 
distances.  One  or  more  pieces  are  lashed  to  each  side  of  a 
horse,  and  with  one  end  dragging,  they  will  go  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  miles  in  a  day.  They  cannot  carry  timber  that 
is  quite  as  ponderous  as  the  staff  of  Satan,  described  by 
Milton — a  Norway  pine,  or  "  mast  of  some  tall  admiral," 
being  but  "a  wand"  to  it.  I  asked  about  their  heavy  ar- 
ticles of  furniture,  and  was  told  that  their  sofa,  bureau,  and 
some  other  articles,  were  made  there. 

The  church  of  Hraungerthi  was  the  best  I  had  seen 
out  of  Reykjavik,  large  enough,  I  should  think,  to  hold 
two  hundred  people.  Many  of  the  Iceland  churches  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  are  not  more  than  twelve  feet  by 
eighteen,  inside  measurement. 

I  was  so  well  entertained  at  Hraungerthi,  and  got  so 
much  information  about  the  country,  that  I  did  not  leave 
till  one  o'clock  the  day  after  my  arrival.  A  fine  breakfast 
was  served  at  nine,  coffee  having  been  sent  me  in  my  room 
as  soon  as  I  was  up.  I  know  not  when  I  shall  ever  return 
any  of  the  numerous  acts  of  hospitality  and  kindness  ex- 
tended to  me  by  the  Icelanders ;  and  I  greatly  fear  the 
opportunity  never  will  come,  unless  Icelanders  oftener  go 
to  America  than  they  ever  have.  In  fact,  since  old  Eric 
and  his  friend  sailed  to  the  American  continent,  near  a 
thousand  years  ago,  I  believe  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  an 
account  of  a  single  Icelander  that  has  ever  been  in  Brother 
Jonathan's  land.  If  ever  one  does  go  to  America,  may  I 
be  there  to  meet  him  !  and  if  the  neck  of  at  least  one  cham- 


184  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

pagne  bottle  does'nt  get  wrung  off,  then — then — then  I'll 
see  what. 

If  the  Danish  government  will  open  the  trade  of  Ice- 
land to  the  world — an  event  not  improbable — we  might 
expect  some  commerce  between  that  country  and  this;  and 
then  the  inhabitants  of  Vinland,  in  their  own  cities,  could 
greet  the  followers  and  descendants  of  Eric  and  Heriulf. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

A  heart  that,  like  the  Geyser  spring 

Amidst  its  bosom'd  snows, 
May  shrink,  not  rest, — but  with  its  blood 

Boils  even  in  repose. 

P.  J.  Bailey. 

Whether  Americans  will  ever  have  the  opportunity  of 
returning  any  of  the  hospitality  that  the  Icelanders  extended 
to  one  of  their  countrymen,  is  uncertain.  At  any  rate, 
their  guest  was  made  welcome.  Mr.  Stefan  Thorarensen 
insisted  on  presenting  me  with  a  fine  copy  of  the  poems 
of  Jonas  Hallgrimson,  one  of  the  modern  poets  of  Ice- 
land. Perhaps,  some  day  I'll  translate  it  into  English 
verse !  The  pleasantest  meetings  must  have  an  end ;  and, 
after  the  sun  had  passed  the  meridian,  we  had  our  horses 
caught,  and  bade  adieu  to  Hraungerthi.  Two  hours'  riding 
brought  us  to  the  ferry  of  Laugardaelir,  on  the  Hvita,  too 
formidable  a  stream  to  ford  at  this  place,  and  far  larger  than 
I  found  it  above  Skalholt,  where  it  came  so  near  carrying 
me  away.  Here  we  found  our  clerical-looking  friend  who 
helped  make  the  brandy-toddy  disappear  at  the  sysselman's. 
He  was  the  ferryman,  his  house  standing  near  the  bank  of 
the  river.  Like  some  other  sanctimonious-looking  fellows, 
he  was  evidently  a  pretty  hard  case — something  of  a  sinner. 
9 


186  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

No  hospitalities  in  his  house ;  not  even  a  glass  of  brandy 
and  water.     He  was  agent  for  an  Iceland  newspaper,  and 
seeing  copies  of  the  last  number,  I  offered  to  purchase  one. 
I  took  a  copy  of  the  paper,  and  then  held  a  handful  of 
money  towards  him,  for  him  to  help  himself  to  the  price. 
There  were  all  sizes  and  values  of  Danish  coin  down  to  a 
skilling,  to  select  from  ;  and,  though  the  price  of  a  paper 
was  just  about  one  penny  sterling,  he  took  a  third  of  a  dol- 
lar !     At  the  ferry,  he  "  tried  it  on "   again,  but  there  it 
didn't  fit.     He  asked  me  a  dollar,  double  the  uniform  price, 
for  rowing  me  across,  but  I  gave  him  only  the  customary 
rate.     This  was  the  first  little  variety    that  I  had  seen  in 
Iceland  character ;  but  there  are  few  flocks  composed  of  all 
white  sheep.     When  we  arrived  at  the  bank  of  the  river,  we 
saw  the  boat  in  the  center  of  the  stream,  apparently  coming 
towards  us,  but  on  the  opposite  bank  were  two  or  three  trav- 
elers, vociferating  violently  to  be  taken  across.      We  hal- 
loo'd  to  the  boatman  furiously,  and  seeing  his  clerical-look- 
ing master,  he  came  to  us  first.     A  hook  was  set  near  the 
landing,  and  honest  black-coat  drew  it  up,  and  found  he  had 
hooked  a  small  trout.    A  comely,  handsome  girl  came  down  to 
the  water-side ;  and  our  honest  ferry-master  told  me,  a  num- 
ber of  times,  that  she  was  his  "  dottir."      He  seemed  very 
proud  of  her ;  and  well  he  might,  for  she  was  a  strong  con- 
trast to  himself.     If  he  ever  gets  to  heaven,  it  will  probably 
be  on  her  account.     The  prettiest  girl  I  have  seen  since 
leaving  England,  was  selling  flowers  in  the  market,  at  Ham- 
burg ;  and  the  next  prettiest  stood  bare-headed  and  bare- 
footed, in  an  old  brown  petticoat,  on  the  bank  of  the  Hvita, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  187 

with  a  fish  in  her  hand,  and  her  long  hair  streaming  in  the 
wind. 

We  had  the  usual  variety  in  crossing  the  river.  Several 
of  the  horses  got  loose,  and  then  tried  to  get  into  the  boat, 
or  overturn  it ;  and  some  of  them  went  swimming  and  float- 
ing far  down  the  stream  before  they  landed.  The  boat  was 
r6wed  by  the  boatman,  and  the  ferry-master  in  his  "suit  of 
sables."  The  master  was  a  regular  "  lazy  ;"  and  I  thought 
the  boatman  would,  though  on  the  down-stream  side,  turn 
the  boat  round  in  a  circle.  This  boatman  was  the  wildest- 
looking  man  I  ever  saw  in  my  life.  He  had  no  hat,  coat, 
nor  vest,  and  his  long  hair,  hanging  down  on  all  sides  of 
his  head,  made  him  look  like  a  wild  man.  He  was  a  pic- 
ture, and  would  have  made  a  subject  fit  for  a  Wilkie.  He 
was  not  a  man,  though,  to  be  afraid  of;  and,  in  fact,  I  should 
rather  trust  him  than  his  master. 

Our  journey,  to-day,  led  through  a  country  mostly  level 
meadows  and  bogs,  with  a  constant  range  of  hills  and 
mountains  on  our  right.  The  same  continued  evidences  of  a 
volcanic  region  presented  themselves,  that  we  see  more  or 
less,  all  over  Iceland. 

There  was  not  as  much  lava,  except  on  the  hills,  as  we 
found  in  some  other  places  ;  but  a  constant  succession  of  hot 
springs.  Since  crossing  the  Thiorsd  river,  yesterday,  we 
have  passed  at  least  six  different  localities  where  the  smoke 
arises  from  hot  and  warm  springs.  We  were  now  approach- 
ing some  springs  far  more  celebrated  than  any  we  had  seen 
lately,  and  perhaps  the  third  in  point  of  interest  of  any  to 
be  found  in  Iceland.     These  springs  are  known  as  the  Rey- 


188  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

kir  springs,  and  are  visited  by  most  everybody  that  comes 
to  Iceland,  being  but  one  day's  journey  from  Reykjavik, 
and  far  easier  of  access  than  the  Geysers.  The  Reykir 
springs,  to  be  enjoyed,  must  be  seen  before  visiting  the 
Geysers,  as  they  are  far  inferior  to  their  more  celebrated 
spouting  brethren  in  the  north.  I  was  told  I  should  come 
to  these  springs  after  winding  round  a  range  of  hills  on  my 
right ;  but  we  kept  "  winding  round,"  and  I  thought  the 
springs  never  would  appear.  The  weather  was  rainy,  and 
the  roads  bad,  and  though  we  had  but  a  short  journey  to- 
day, I  was  glad  when  the  wreaths  of  smoke  announced  the 
day's  travel  nearly  over.  I  had  here  a  hotel  of  the  usual 
dimensions,  and  the  ordinary  sacred  character — a  small 
church,  and  the  poorest  I  had  seen  in  Iceland.  "  Frouzly  " 
haired  men,  and  fat,  red-cheeked  girls,  with  large  pails  of 
milk,  were,  as  usual,  seen  about  the  farm-house.  A  bed  of 
down — what  all  the  Icelanders  have — and  one  of  those 
small  and  prettily-checked  coverlets,  the  manufacture  of  the 
family,  were  brought  out  to  the  church,  and  with  some  dry 
clothes,  hot  water  for  my  tea,  and  a  large  bowl  of  milk, 
Nero  and  I  were  soon  fast  by  the  altar,  and  enjoying  our- 
selves as  much  as  any  two  sinners  in  the  world.  Oh  !  if  a 
man  wants  to  enjoy  his  loaf,  whether  it  is  white  bread  or 
black,  and  if  he  wishes  sound  sleep,  either  in  a  church  or  on 
the  ground,  let  him  mount  a  pony  every  day,  and  ride  in 
storm  and  calm,  through  bush  and  bog,  brake  and  brier, 
and  over  fields  of  Iceland  lava. 

The  Reykir  springs  are  nearly  a  hundred  in  number,  and 
cover  some  fifty  acres — a  tract  nearly  as  large  as  the  Gey- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  189 

sers  occupy.  These  springs  also  comprise  every  variety  of 
hot,  warm,  spouting,  and  mud  springs.  The  springs  here 
that  spout,  are  more  regular  than  the  Geysers,  but  do  not 
perform  on  so  extensive  a  scale.  They  don't  bore  with  so 
big  an  auger;  havn't  the  caliber,  nor  the  capital  to  do  busi- 
ness on.  They  are  very  beautiful ;  but,  to  be  appreciated 
fully,  should  be  seen  before  going  to  the  Geysers.  The 
spouting  ones  are  intermittent,  giving  their  eruptions  at  reg- 
ular periods.  I  found,  by  consulting  my  watch,  that  the 
largest  one  commenced  an  eruption  once  in  three  hours  and 
sixteen  minutes.  Each  eruption  continues  about  half  an 
hour.  This  spring,  or  Geyser,  is  like  a  well,  about  five  feet 
in  diameter.  It  has  been  nearly  filled  up,  by  persons  throw- 
ing large  stones  into  it.  When  I  arrived,  it  was  not  in  an 
eruption,  and  down  among  the  stones  I  could  see  the  hot 
water,  boiling  violently.  It  was  on  the  top  of  a  rise  or 
knoll  of  ground,  and  I  could  see  that  the  water  had  made  an 
aperture,  and  escaped  through  the  petrified  wall  of  the  well, 
and  appeared  on  the  surface  of  the  ground,  a  little  way 
down  the  knoll,  making  a  fair-sized  brook.  No  water  ran 
over  the  top  of  the  well,  only  when  in  action. 

At  the  time  of  an  eruption,  it  rushed  suddenly,  without 
any  warning,  up  through  the  stones,  separating  into  a  great 
many  streams.  There  it  continued  playing  beautifully, 
much  like  an  artificial  fountain,  for  nearly  half  an  hour. 
The  noise  could  be  heard  for  half  a  mile,  or  more.  The  first 
time  it  played,  after  my  arrival,  was  near  midnight,  after  I 
had  got  to  sleep.  Hearing  the  roar  and  rush  of  water,  I 
was  instantly  awakened,  and  ran  to  the  church  window,  and 


190  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

looked  out.  There  it  was,  throwing  up  its  broad,  white, 
foamy  jets,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  me.  There  being 
no  darkness  here,  at  this  season,  sights  and  shows  appear  to 
about  as  good  advantage  in  the  Iceland  twilight  as  in  the 
noonday  sun.  I  watched  it  from  my  window,  till  it  settled 
down,  and  gradually  sunk  into  the  earth.  I  saw  it  in  erup- 
tion twice  the  next  morning,  before  I  left.  Its  height  was 
scarcely  forty  feet,  but  it  would  be  a  grand  addition  to  the 
artificial  fountains  and  warm  baths  in  one  of  our  cities. 
Wonder  if  the  Icelanders  would  sell  it  ?  Guess  not ;  it  is  one 
of  the  "  lions  n  of  the  country  ;  and,  if  their  curiosities  were 
gone,  there  would  be  nothing  to  attract  the  foreigners  here.  If 
a  stretch  of  the  imagination  could  make  a  spring  movable 
property,  one  would  hardly  think  of  carrying  off  Mount 
Hekla  or  Skaptar  Jokull.  This  Geyser  is  near  the  foot  of  a 
range  of  hills,  the  same  as  the  Geysers  in  the  north.  The 
brook  of  hot  water  from  this,  ran  near  half  a  mile  before  it 
emptied  into  a  cold  stream  that  flowed  past.  One  of  the 
prettiest  fountain-springs  in  the  world  is  near  the  bank  of 
this  cold  brook,  at  the  foot  of  a  very  steep  ridge,  near  half  a 
mile  from  the  larger  Geyser.  The  basin  itself  was  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  across,  and  shaped  some  like  the  half  of  an  oyster, 
or  rather  a  clam-shell.  The  side  next  the  hill  was  far  the 
deepest,  sinking  into  a  kind  of  well  three  or  four  feet  in  dia- 
meter, where  the  water  came  out.  The  direction  of  the  well 
was  slanting  or  diagonal,  the  opening  coming  outward  from 
the  hill.  The  brow  of  the  hill  hung  partly  over  the  spring, 
so  that  in  an  eruption  the  water  could  not  rise  perpendicu- 
larlv,  but  was  forced  out  at  an  angle  of  thirty  or  forty  de- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  191 

grees  with  the  ground.  It  did  not  throw  the  water  more 
than  ten  or  twelve  feet  high,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  out- 
wardly. This  spring  makes  up  for  its  lack  of  size  and 
grandeur,  in  the  frequency  of  its  eruptions,  and  the  beauty  of 
the  incrustations  and  petrifactions  in  and  around  it.  All  the 
bottom  of  the  spring  is  a  mass  of  petrifaction,  and  nearly  as 
white  as  the  purest  marble.  After  an  eruption,  the  water 
would  gradually  recede  from  the  basin,  and  sink  down  into 
the  earth,  nearly  all  disappearing,  so  that  the  water  could 
just  be  seen  down  the  aperture  of  the  spring.  Then  it 
would  at  once  commence  rising  gradually ;  and  in  three  or 
four  minutes  it  would  get  to  spouting,  and  continue  going 
till  the  basin  was  full,  and  run  over  considerably.  After 
three  or  four  minutes  it  would  gradually  stop,  and  sink  back 
again.  A  whole  round  of  performance,  rising  up,  blowing 
off,  and  sinking  down  again,  occupied  about  fifteen  min- 
utes. 

With  a  hammer  that  the  guide  brought  me,  I  broke  up 
some  beautiful  incrustations  to  bring  home.  The  samples 
of  these  petrifactions  are  not  unlike  some  found  in  the  lime- 
stone caves  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky.  The  mud-springs 
here  are  very  curious.  Some  of  them  are  like  large  and 
sputtering  cauldrons  of  black  pudding.  Again,  some  of 
them  are  seen  gurgling  away  down  in  the  earth ;  and,  at- 
tracted by  the  noise  and  the  steam,  I  would  go  and  look 
down  a  hole,  and  see  it  sputtering  and  boiling,  apparently 
pure  clay  in  a  semi-liquid  state.  The  clays  here  are  very 
beautiful,  and  a  great  variety  of  colors,  as  I  had  found  them 
at  the  Geysers.     In  many  places  near  the  springs — particu- 


192  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

larly  near  the  mud-springs — the  clay  is  soft  and  hot,  often 
dangerously  so.  Visitors  sometimes  get  into  a  soft  place, 
and  sink  into  it,  getting  their  feet  and  legs  dreadfully 
scalded.  In  these  places  it  is  boiling  hot.  What  a  terrible 
fate  for  a  man  to  sink  down  here  out  of  sight !  Nero  ac- 
companied me  from  the  house  up  to  the  Geyser,  and  when 
he  came  to  the  brook  of  hot  water  that  ran  from  it,  he 
stopped,  and  gave  a  howl.  Poor  Nero  !  he  knew  it  was 
hot,  and  would  scald  his  feet,  and  it  was  too  wide  for  him  to 
jump  it.  So  I  took  him  up  in  my  arms,  and  carried  him 
across.  He  seemed  to  appreciate  the  favor  perfectly.  The 
poor  dog  did  not  know  but  he  had  escaped  being  drowned 
in  the  rivers,  or  roasted  in  Mount  Hekla,  to  come  here  and 
be  boiled  in  the  Reykir  springs.  Good  old  Nero  !  many  a 
long  league  we've  traveled  together,  and  you  have  got  so 
you  scarcely  know  whether  you  like  your  Iceland  or  your 
Yankee  master  best.  I  rather  think  you  like  the  one  best 
for  the  time  being,  who  gives  you  the  most  boiled  bacon, 
and  fresh  milk. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

M  By  water  shall  lie  die,  and  take  his  end." 

Having  seen  the  Reykir  springs,  I  prepared  to 
leave.  I  paid  the  man  the  usual  sum  for  the  privilege  of 
sleeping  in  the  parish  church,  and  for  the  grass  for  our 
horses,  and  milk  for  ourselves.  He  was  evidently  dis- 
satisfied ;  returned  no  thanks,  and  did  not  offer  his  hand  as 
a  token  of  satisfaction.  From  his  demeanor  now,  and  more 
from  some  circumstances  hereafter  to  be  related,  I  think 
him  a  bad  man.  He  was  of  a  much  darker  complexion 
than  the  most  of  the  Icelanders,  and  a  morose,  churlish- 
looking  fellow.  Perhaps,  from  the  fact  that  he  was  the 
landlord  of  the  Reykir  Springs — a  "fashionable  watering- 
place" — he  had  grown  worldly,  and  considered  a  stay  on 
his  premises  worth  more  than  it  is  at  most  caravanseras. 
He  saddled  his  horse,  however,  and  prepared  to  accompany 
us ;  probably,  though,  as  a  favor  to  the  guide,  rather  than 
to  me,  as  he  would  not  like  to  forfeit  his  future  custom. 
The  guide  rode  ahead  with  the  pack-horses,  and  I  went  a 
little  way  to  the  right  to  see  some  hot  and  warm  springs — 
a  part  of  the  great  family  here,  that  I  had  not  seen  the  night 
before.  There  were  two,  similar  to  two  that  I  had  seen  at 
the  Geysers,  large  and  deep;  perhaps  twenty  feet  across, 
and  entirely  full  of  hot  water,  so  clear  that  I  could  see 
perfectly  plain  to  the  bottom — about  thirty  or  thirty-five  feet, 
9* 


194  '  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

as  near  as  I  could  judge.  These  springs  did  not  discharge 
a  very  great  quantity  of  water ;  but  there  they  were  level, 
full,  and  hot  enough  to  boil  a  dinner,  and  there  they  had 
been  in  that  state,  probably, 

"  Amid  the  flux  of  many  thousand  years, 
That  oft  had  swept  the  toiling  race  of  men 
And  all  their  labored  monuments  away." 

A  little  way  off — perhaps  twelve  rods — was  a  cold 
spring,  and  between  that  and  the  hot  ones  was  one  of  tepid 
water.  "  Mine  host "  rode  out  near  me,  to  call  my  attention 
to  this  tepid  spring.  It  was  more  like  a  well,  about  ten  feet 
across  at  the  top  of  the  water,  which  was  below  the  surface 
of  the  ground  some  six  or  eight  feet.  I  got  off  my  horse, 
and  with  some  caution  went  down  the  steep,  sloping  side 
of  the  well,  and  felt  of  the  water.  It  was  about  blood  heat, 
and  no  steam  escaped  from  it.  The  water  was  pitchy  black, 
and  showed  no  bottom,  appearing  of  unfathomable  depth. 
The  Icelander  also  went  down  the  bank,  and  felt  of  the 
water;  and  while  he  did  so,  his  feet  gave  way,  and  down 
he  went  into  the  horrible-looking  pool.  As  he  sank,  he 
turned  his  face  towards  me  with  a  look  of  terror  and  fear 
more  horrible  than  I  ever  saw  on  a  man's  countenance 
before.  May  I  never  be  a  witness  to  another  such  sight! 
His  death  seemed  inevitable.  To  my  utmost  astonishment, 
he  floated.  To  go  in  after  him  was  out  of  the  question,  and 
would  only  have  resulted  in  drowning  us  both.  He  floated 
over  on  his  back,  his  face  just  out  of  water,  and  reached  his 
hands  imploringly  towards  me.     I  stretched   my  whip   to 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  195 

him  ;  and  as  he  caught  the  end  of  the  lash,  I  pulled  him 
slowly  towards  the  bank,  then  grasped  his  hand,  and  got 
him  out.  The  man  was  drunk  !  It  was  brandy  that  threw 
him  into  the  water,  and  no  doubt  'twas  brandy  that  kept 
him  afloat.  Not  being  very  fond  of  water,  I  think  'twould 
be  very  difficult  to  drown  an  Icelander.  Certainly  this  one 
did  not  show  the  "  alacrity  in  sinking "  that  Falstaff  did. 
He  pulled  off  his  coat,  and  wrung  the  water  out  of  it ;  and 
then,  in  his  wet  clothes,  mounted  his  horse,  and  we  rode  on 
after  the  guide,  who  by  this  time  was  a  long  way  ahead, 
crossing  the  green  meadows. 

To  the  left,  towards  the  river  Hvita  and  the  sea,  it 
was  level ;  and  on  the  right,  ranges  of  hills  and  mountains. 
In  the  course  of  six  or  eight  miles,  we  arrived  at  the 
little  town  and  church  of  Hjalli  (he-akt-li).  It  was  Sunday, 
and  the  people  for  many  miles  around  were  assembling  for 
worship.  Every  one  came  on  horseback.  As  for  traveling 
on  foot  any  distance,  such  a  thing  is  unknown  in  Iceland. 
Here  the  landlord  of  the  Reykir  Springs  left  us.  He 
showed  the  same  ungrateful,  unthankful  spirit  that  he 
did  that  morning  at  home,  although  I  had  saved  his  life. 
Holding  forth  my  hand,  to  shake  his  at  parting,  with  a 
wrathful  look  he  drew  his  back,  and  said  "  Nay."  He  had 
no  reason  to  treat  me  thus  ;  but  according  to  an  old  super- 
stition, common  in  Orkney  and  Shetland,  and  I  believe  in 
Iceland,  I  ought  to  beware  of  him.  It  is  related  by 
northern  journalists — see  Scott's  Pirate — that  when  a  ship 
is  wrecked,  or  under  other  circumstances,  no  one  must  try 
to  save  the  lives  of  the  unfortunates ;  for  if  they  do,  the 


196  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

person  so  saved  will  some  day  take  the  life  of  his  bene- 
factor, or  in  some  way  prove  his  evil  genius.  I  don't  think 
this  Icelander  can  stand  much  of  a  chance  to  be  mine,  for 
in  all  human  probability  we  shall  never  meet  again.  He  is 
evidently  not  born  to  be  drowned,  but  he  better  be  cautious 
how  he  imbibes  too  much  brandy  before  going  to  the 
margin  of  a  deep  well.  He  may  not,  at  another  time,  have 
a  Yankee  to  pull  him  out  if  he  falls  in.  Leaving  Hjalli,  we 
crossed  a  broad  tract  of  country  covered  with  the  beautiful 
heath,  now  in  full  bloom.  I  stopped  and  gathered  a  large 
bouquet  to  carry  home.  This  day  it  rained  the  most  of  the 
time ;  and,  though  not  near  night,  I  was  glad  when  we 
arrived  at  Vogsosar,  where  the  guide  said  we  were  to  put 
up.  We  rode  up  to  the  house — bear  in  mind,  the  Iceland 
towns  often  consist  of  just  one  tenement — and  dismounted. 
The  resident  was  a  clergyman — Rev.  Mr.  Jonson.  He 
came  out,  and  after  saluting  me,  had  a  long  talk,  in 
Icelandic,  with  the  guide.  It  seemed  as  if  I  had  fallen  on 
evil  men  and  evil  times,  for  I  did  not  like  the  appearance  of 
this  man  at  all.  Somehow,  he  had  a  forbidding  look;  and  I 
fancied  we  should  have  to  travel  further,  as  I  did  not  believe 
his  heart  or  house  would  open  for  me  that  night.  How 
easy  it  is  to  be  mistaken !  He  was  like  all  the  Iceland 
clergy — and  like  almost  every  one  of  the  Icelanders — one  of 
the  most  hospitable  of  men.  Having  got  the  history  of  our 
former  travels — as  I  presume  he  did — from  the  guide,  and 
finding,  no  doubt,  that  I  was  one  whose  character  would  bear 
investigation,  he  "  took  me  in  ; "  not,  however,  as  the  land- 
lady did  Dr.  Syntax ;  but  he  took  me  into  his  house,  showed 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  197 

me  a  warm  fire,  had  some  fresh  trout  cooked  for  me,  a  fine 
cup  of  coffee,  and  with  a  change  of  dry  clothes,  I  was  once 
more  "  in  clover."  This  was  near  the  sea-shore,  on  a  lake 
known  as  Hlitharvatn,  a  kind  of  bottle-like  arm  of  the  sea, 
where  the  water  flowed  in,  through  a  neck  or  strait,  at  every 
flow  of  the  tide.  About  a  mile  south  of  the  house,  with  the 
waves  of  the  Atlantic  nearly  washing  it,  stood  the  church. 
This  bears  the  name  of  "  Strandar  Kirkja,"  or,  Church  on 
the  Strand. 

Southeast  of  this,  a  mile  or  two,  is  a  cape  known  as  the 
"Nes."  These  names  of  "kirk,"  "strand,"  and  "Nes," 
show  the  similarity  in  the  languages  in  the  north  of  Europe. 
There  is  Inverness,  on  the  north  coast  of  Scotland;  Cape 
Lindesness,  on  the  southwest  point  of  Norway ;  and  Reikia- 
ness,  on  the  southwest  point  of  Iceland.  Mr.  Jonson  had 
some  good  books  in  his  house,  and  was  evidently  a  gentle- 
man and  a  scholar.  He  talked  excellent  Latin,  in  which 
dead  language  we  exchanged  our  live  thoughts.  He 
evidently  lived  rather  comfortably ;  and,  like  most  of  the 
Iceland  clergy,  was  both  farmer  and  preacher.  He  made 
some  inquiries  about  America,  but  seemed  extremely  con- 
tented, and  well  satisfied  with  his  own  country.  He  told 
me,  in  order  to  cross  the  neck  or  strait  that  led  to  the  lake,  I 
must  start  the  next  morning  at  six  o'clock — "  kora  sexta  " — 
when  it  would  be  low  tide.  We  accordingly  made  prepara- 
tions for  an  early  start.  I  found.it  totally  useless  to  offer 
him  money  for  my  entertainment.  Like  all  the  clergy,  not 
a  penny  would  he  take.  I  offered  a  piece  of  silver  to  one  of 
his  servants,  who  brought  up  our  horses ;  but  a  half-dollar 


198  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

had  no  charms  for  him ;  he  would  not  take  it.  He  knew 
the  value  of  money,  but  he  knew  it  was  not  the  custom  for 
his  master  or  his  household  to  take  money  from  strangers. 
Giving  him,  and  his  wife  and  family,  our  best  thanks  and  a 
hearty  shake  of  the  hand,  while  the  morning  sun  was  gilding 
the  broad  Atlantic,  and  lighting  up  the  mountain  tops,  we 
rode  away. 

Our  ride  to-day,  going  west  from  Vogsosar,  was  quite  a 
contrast  to  yesterday's  journey.  At  six  o'clock  we  found 
low  tide,  and  the  water  nearly  out  of  the  arm  of  the  sea  that 
supplies  Lake  Hlitbarvatn  with  water.  A  young  tern,  half 
fledged,  was  on  a  little  island  near  us,  as  we  passed  ;  and  the 
old  bird  showed  great  signs  of  alarm.  The  little  fellow  had 
not  been  in  the  world  long,  but  we  certainly  were  not 
among  his  enemies.  The  mother  bird  swooped  down  at  the 
dog  and  then  at  us,  and  screamed  at  the  whole  party,  and 
kept  it  up  till  we  were  far  away  from  the  little  one.  Skirt- 
ing the  strand  for  some  distance,  the  guide  pointed  out  with 
great  interest  several  logs  of  drift  wood  that  had  been 
washed  ashore. 

The  gales  from  the  southwest  bring  a  good  deal  of  drift 
wood  on  shore  along  here,  every  stick  of  which  is  valuable. 
The  coast  being  low,  there  is  a  long  line  of  breakers  pitching 
their  white  caps  on  to  the  strand.  Large  numbers  of  sea- 
fowl  were  riding  and  rocking  on  the  waves, 

"  As  free  as  an  anchored  boat." 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  life  of  a  sea-fowl  must  be  a  con- 
tinued romance.     I  would  like  to  fly  and  swim  as  they  do? 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  199 

if  I  could.  But  some  of  them  have  floated,  and  swam,  and 
fished  their  lives  away ;  for  their  skeletons  lie  about  on  the 
beach.  How  black  the  whole  line  of  coast  is  along  here ! 
How  different  from  the  chalky  cliffs  of  old  England,  or  the 
clear- white  sand  on  the  shores  of  America !  Here  it  is  all 
lava  and  volcanic  sand,  and  quite  black.  From  Vogsosar 
we  continued  our  journey  west  to  Krisuvik,  a  very  small 
town  near  the  coast,  but  it  has  no  harbor.  Never  were  the 
striking  features  of  a  volcanic  country  shown  more  palpably 
than  where  we  traveled  to-day.  We  rode  on  the  plain,  with 
the  mountains  on  our  right  and  the  sea  to  the  left.  Earth- 
quakes, many  of  them  very  violent,  happen  here  every  few 
years.  Then  large  fragments  of  rocks  and  lava  are  rolled 
down  from  the  mountain  tops  far  out  into  the  plain.  These 
were  very  numerous  and  of  all  sizes,  some  that  would  weigh 
fifteen  or  twenty  tons  having  rolled  from  one  to  two  miles. 
Here  the  old  lava,  particularly  that  which  had  rolled  down 
from  the  mountains,  had  a  different  appearance  from  any  I 
had  before  seen  in  Iceland.  Much  of  this  looks  like  the 
conglomerate  or  "  plum-pudding  stone  "  found  on  the  coast 
of  Scotland,  in  our  New  England  States,  in  California,  and 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  It  looks  just  as  if  in  the  vol- 
canic times,  when  there  was  a  general  melting,  that  a  quan- 
tity of  sea-worn  pebbles  and  very  hard  round  stones  of  va- 
rious sizes  would  not  melt,  but  became  incorporated  or  rolled 
up  in  the  dough-like  mass,  and  here  they  remain  like  enor- 

Imous  plum-puddings  at  Christmas  time. 
Many  of  the  hills  and  mountains  are  very  abrupt  and 
precipitous,  like  those  near  Revkir,  and  farther  east,  near 
" '    - 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

My  hour  is  almost  come, 
When  I,  to  sulphurous  and  tormenting  flames, 
Must  render  up  myself. 

Ghost  of  old  Mr.  Hamlet. 

Krisuvik  is  not  a  very  flourishing  city.  It  contains  a 
church  and  one  farm-house,  the  latter  comprised  in  several 
edifices,  as  the  farmers'  houses  here  usually  are,  and  all  cov- 
ered with  green  grass.  Sir  George  Mackenzie's  hook,  which 
I  have  with  me,  gives  a  picture  of  this  place ;  and  every 
building  and  object  now,  even  to  the  garden  wall,  are  an 
exact  facsimile  of  the  Krisuvik  of  forty-two  years  ago. 
Two  and  three  miles  to  the  north  are  the  sulphur  mountains, 
and  at  this  distance  show  plainly  the  yellow  sulphur,  the 
variegated  clays,  and  the  smoke  arising  from  the  springs, 
"  and  the  mountains  dimly  burning."  The  people  at  Kri- 
suvik, looked  very  poor  and  wretched,  more  so  than  any  I 
had  seen  in  a  long  time.  They  let  us  have  some  excellent 
milk,  for  which  I  paid  them,  and  made  them  several  presents 
of  trifling  articles,  writh  all  of  which  they  seemed  greatly 
pleased. 

We  sat  on  an  old  grass-covered  wall  made  of  turf  and 
lava,  and  dispatched  our  dinner;  and  then,  mounting  our 
horses,  rode  to  the  north  towards  the  sulphur  mountains. 
If  there  is  an  interesting  developement  of  volcanic  heat  in 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  201 

all  Iceland,  it  is  in  this  most  remarkable  place.  The  sul- 
phur mountains  are  a  great  curiosity.  The  name  in  Ice- 
landic— Brennisteinnamur — looks  a  little  "  brimstony."  In 
about  two  miles,  we  came  to  a  beautiful  lake  of  green  water, 
— another  "  Grcenavatn" — like  the  one  near  Hekla.  Near 
this,  in  order  to  examine  the  mountains  in  all  their  glory 
and  fire,  and  see  the  sulphur  mines,  I  had  to  leave  my  horse 
and  climb  for  it.  Sir  George  Mackenzie  gives  a  very  inter- 
esting, but  rather  terrible,  account  of  this  mountain-pass 
and  the  dangers  he  and  the  companions  went  through  in 
exploring  it.  The  guide,  with  the  horses,  kept  the  plain,  and 
I  turned  to  the  left;  agreeing  after  I  had  explored  the 
mountains  to  come  down  one  or  two  miles  ahead  and  meet 
him  near  some  hot  springs,  the  smoke  of  which  we  could 
see.  As  the  guide  with  our  little  cavalcade  rode  off,  Nero 
followed  me  towards  the  mountains.  As  the  distance  wid- 
ened between  the  guide  and  me,  the  dog  would  stop  and 
cast  a  wistful  look  across  the  plain  towards  his  master.  As 
all  our  separations  had  been  temporary,  he  felt  himself  safe, 
and  with  a  little  encouragement  followed  me.  Still  he 
would  now  and  then  give  a  lingering  look  towards  his  mas- 
ter, and  it  required  more  and  more  urging  to  get  him  to 
follow.  The  distance  grew  wider  and  wider ;  and  now  we 
were  near  a  mile  and  a  half  apart,  when  Nero,  with  one 
glance  at  me,  started  upon  the  run.  He  flew  like  a  deer, 
and  taking  a  bee-line  across  the  plain,  was  very  soon  with 
his  good  master  and  the  ponies.  Some  sharp  climbing  up 
the  mountain,  nearly  a  thousand  feet,  brought  me  to  the 


202  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

sulphur  mines — a  scene  I  shall  never  forget,  a  literal  pool  of 
fire  and  brimstone. 

Had  Milton  ever  visited  the  sulphur  mountains  of  Ice- 
land, I  could  have  forgiven  him  his  description  of  the  infer- 
nal regions.  Here  was  a  little  hollow  scooped  out  of  the 
side  of  the  mountain;  and  all  over  and  through  it,  yeh- 
low  sulphur,  burning  hillocks  of  stone  and  clay,  and  sti- 
fling sulphurous  smoke.  The  surface,  too,  was  semi-liquid  5 
in  fact  as  near  a  literal  lake  of  fire  and  brimstone  as  this 
world  probably  shows. 

"  Dusky  and  huge,  enlarging  on  the  sight, 
Nature's  volcanic  amphitheater 

****** 

Beneath  a  living  valley  seems  to  stir ; 

****** 

Pluto  !     If  this  be  hell  I  look  upon, 

Close  shamed  Elysium's  gates,  my  shade  shall  seek  for  none." 

Here  was  sulphur,  bred  in  heat,  coming  up  out  of  "  the 
bowels  of  the  harmless  earth,"  like  saltpeter,  that  was  so 
abhorred  by  Hotspur's  dandy.  The  earth  itself  here  was 
principally  a  fine  pink  or  flesh-colored  clay ;  and  all  over 
this  I  could  see  holes  communicating  with  the  mighty 
laboratory  of  nature  below;  and  as  the  steam  and  smoke 
came  out  of  these  holes,  the  fine  particles  of  sulphur  seemed 
to  be  brought  up  to  the  surface.  The  clayey  ground  where 
the  sulphur  lay,  was  in  most  places  soft,  and  could  not  be 
walked  over  without  the  greatest  danger  of  sinking  down 
through  it,  perhaps  into  the  fiery  depths,  in  the  bowels  of 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  203 

the  mountain.  Indeed,  it  possesses  a  kind  of  horrible  and 
fascinating  interest.  Around  the  edges,  and  in  certain 
places,  the  soil  is  hard,  and  some  stones  are  seen  where  one 
can  go  in  safety.  By  having  a  couple  of  boards,  a  man 
might  walk  all  over  the  ground.  In  some  places,  the 
sulphur  was  a  foot  thick ;  and  as  it  gathered,  it  seemed  to 
consolidate,  and  I  found  I  could  break  up  large  pieces, 
beautifully  crystallized.  This  sulphur  appeared  about  as 
pure  as  the  sulphur  sold  in  the  shops,  but  not  as  dense.  It 
had  not  half  that  strong  odor  that  sulphur  and  brimstone 
have,  in  a  prepared  state.  These  mines  showed  signs  that 
they  had  been  worked,  as  some  bits  of  boards  and  planks 
lay  about,  and  there  were  some  paths  to  be  seen.  The  sul- 
phur is  taken  off  the  surface,  and  then  the  ground  is  left  for 
two  or  three  years  for  it  to  collect  again.  Sulphur  is  so 
cheap,  and  these  mines  being  so  far  from  a  seaport — 
Havnefiord,  some  twenty  miles  north,  being  the  nearest — 
and  roads  and  means  of  transport  being  so  scanty,  gathering 
it  is  not  very  profitable,  nor  carried  on  to  a  great  extent. 
There  are  other  sulphur  mines  in  the  north  ;  some  pro- 
ductive ones  near  Kravla  mountain,  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Myvatn.  How  did  Shakspeare  get  his  knowledge  of  sul- 
phur mines  ?  He  was  never  in  a  volcanic  country.  I  think 
he  got  it,  as  he  did  every  thing  else,  by  inspiration.  He 
knew  that  sulphur  was  generated  in  heat.  In  Othello,  he 
says: 

"  Dangerous  conceits  are,  in  their  natures,  poisons, 
"Which  at  the  first  are  scarce  found  to  distaste, 
But  with  a  little  act  upon  the  blood, 
Burn  like  mines  of  sulphur." 


204  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

After  Othello  kills  Desdemona,  he  calls  all  the  vengeance  of 
heaven  down  on  his  head.     He  says  : 

"Blow  me  about  in  winds!  roast  me  in  sulphur! 
Wash  me  in  steep-down  gulfs  of  liquid  fire! 

King  Lear  speaks  of  a 

"sulphurous  pit,  burning,  scalding — stench." 

In  the  Tempest,  Ariel,  when  he  bothers  the  enemies  of 
Prospero  on  their  ship,  shows  them 


the  fire  and  cracks 


Of  sulphurous  roaring." 

The  "  beginning,  end,  and  aim  "  of  sulphur  seems  to 
be  fire.  Poets  and  imaginative  writers  ever  associate  sul- 
phur with  fire.  They  give  it  a  home  equally  with  the 
lightnings  of  heaven  and  flames  of  hell,  the  roaring  of 
artillery  and  the  blazing  of  the  volcano.  It  seems  to  have 
birth  in  the  thunder-cloud ;  for,  after  the  flash  of  lightning, 
we  can  smell  it,  and  after  the  shower  is  over,  it  is  often  seen 
floating  on  the  rain-water.  To  give  one  more  quotation  ; 
King  Lear  says : 

"Merciful  heaven, 


Thou  rather,  with  thy  sharp  and  sulphurous  bolt, 
Split'st  the  unwedgeable  and  gnarled  oak, 
Than  the  soft  myrtle." 

To  drive  a  thunderbolt  to  split  the  myrtle,  the  game 
would  not  be  worth  the  powder,  I  suppose. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  205 

Near  the  large  bed  of  sulphur,  were  several  mud  springs, 
one  several  feet  in  diameter.  Here  the  boiling  hot  mud,  like 
pitch,  was  spluttering  and  splashing  up  into  the  air  in  jets. 
I  gathered  several  large  lumps  of  sulphur,  and  then  climbed 
over  a  mountain  ridge,  and  came  to  another  similar  place. 
Here  sulphur  had  been  gathered,  and  was  constantly  accu- 
mulating. It  seems  to  be  brought  up  by  the  heat  that 
exhales  from  the  interior  of  the  earth,  as  it  collects  on  every 
thing  there  is  on  the  surface.  If  left  for  ages,  I  presume  it 
would  gather  in  some  places  hundreds  of  feet  deep.  Some 
have  proposed  the  plan  of  laying  boards  on  the  ground  for  it 
to  collect  on.  It  would  then  be  very  clean,  and  easily 
gathered.  In  collecting  it  from  the  clay  surface,  consider- 
able earth  must  often  get  in  it,  but  there  is  a  way  of 
cleaning  it.  In  places  away  from  the  sulphur,  I  saw 
the  variety  of  beautiful  colored  clays,  such  as  appeared 
so  plentiful  at  the  Geysers,  and  at  Reykir.  I  had  a  com- 
paratively easy  walk  down  the  mountain,  through  a  sort 
of  ravine,  towards  some  hot  springs  and  a  green  plain  where 
the  guide  and  horses  were.  Hearing  a  roaring  sound  on 
my  left,  I  turned  aside  to  learn  the  cause ;  and  there  was  a 
steam  spring,  or  rather  a  jet  of  steam,  that  rushed  out  of  the 
mountain  with  a  loud  and  constant  roaring.  The  noise  and 
escape  of  steam  were  incessant,  the  steam  coming  out  in  a 
slanting  direction,  at  least  twenty  feet  in  a  direct  line.  The 
noise  it  made  was  greater  than  that  of  one  of  our  largest 
steamship  engines  "  blowing  off."  Without  a  doubt,  if  this 
was  in  a  manufacturing  couutry,  a  house  could  be  built  over 
this   natural   steam   fountain,   an   engine   erected,   and  by 


206  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

catching  the  steam  in  a  cylinder,  it  could  be  made  to 
do  good  service,  and  all  without  fuel,  fire,  or  water,  and  per- 
petually. In  Sir  George  Mackenzie's  book  was  a  description 
and  an  illustration  of  this  same  jet  of  steam ;  and  I  held  the 
picture  up,  and  compared  it  to  the  present  appearance  of  it, 
and  apparently  it  had  not  altered  a  particle  in  forty-two 
years.  This,  with  the  six  hundred  years'  record  of  the 
Geysers,  and  the  twenty-four  eruptions  of  Hekla,  shows  the 
perpetual  and  constant  volcanic  heat  near  the  surface  of  the 
ground  in  Iceland.  Near  to  this  was  the  most  extraordinary 
mud  spring  I  have  ever  seen.  It  was  the  largest  and  most 
active.  It  was  a  regular  mud  geyser.  Imagine  an 
enormous  kettle  ten  feet  across,  sunk  down  into  the  earth, 
and  filled  to  within  six  feet  of  the  top,  with  hot,  boiling, 
liquid  mud.  There  it  kept  boiling  and  spouting ;  jets  rising 
from  its  pudding-like  surface  ten  and  fifteen  feet  high ;  and  it 
kept  constantly  going.  Wouldn't  a  fall  into  this  cauldron 
of  liquid  pitch  be  boiling  enough  for  one  live  animal ! 
Perhaps  a  boiled  rabbit  in  this  unpromising  kettle  of  "hell 
broth,"  would  be  as  good  as  the  Indians'  way  of  rolling  a 
fowl  in  the  mud,  and  then  roasting  it.  The  sulphur  moun- 
tains, and  all  that  abound  near  them,  are  among  the 
greatest  curiosities  of  Iceland ;  but  Mr.  Barrow,  the  "  very 
enthusiastic"  yachter,  did  not  visit  them,  because  the 
morning  he  thought  of  going  proved  a  little  rainy  !  He 
also  consoled  himself  for  not  going  to  visit  Mount  Hekla, 
because  "  it  might  have  been  cloudy  "  when  he  got  there ! 
This  is  your  English  traveler,  all  over.  Many  is  the  time 
that  I  have  seen  them  forego  the  pleasure  and  profit — if 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  20*7 

such  travelers  could  profit  at  all — of  visiting  the  most 
interesting  scenes,  just  because  it  would  make  a  dinner-hour 
a  little  later  or  a  little  earlier  than  common. 

A  fine  brook  ran  through  the  green  plain,  and  emptied 
into  a  little  lake  not  far  away.  It  looked  delicious  enough 
to  bathe  in  ;  and  a  bath  in  a  warm  pool  or  brook  in  Iceland 
is  a  luxury,  such  as  I  have  tasted.  In  speaking  of  these  sul- 
phur mines  where  the  sulphur  is  hot — and  it  is  gathered  on 
or  near  Mount  ./Etna  in  similar  situations — it  may  be  men- 
tioned, that  there  are  places  where  sulphur  is  to  be  found  cold, 
and  dug  up  like  other  minerals.  When  a  boy,  I  recollect 
being  laughed  at  greatly  by  my  oldest  brother,  for  asking  if 
there  were  not  "  brimstone  mines."  Go  to  !  He  that  runs 
may  read,  and  he  that  runs  far  enough  may  write.  "  The 
gods  throw  stones  of  sulphur  on  thee." — Cymbelline. 
Goto. 


CHAPTER   XIX. 

"  Over  the  hills  and  far  away." 

On  and  about  the  sulphur  mountains  are  a  great  many 
curious  sights,  and  none  more  singular  than  the  various- 
colored  clays.  At  the  distance  of  several  miles  the  contrast 
between  the  sulphur  beds  and  the  different  kinds  of  clay  was 
so  great,  that  the  hills  looked  as  if  they  had  been  experi- 
mented on  by  a  company  of  painters,  so  clearly  did  they 
show  their  coats  of  many  colors.  I  stopped  some  time  ad- 
miring the  great  steam-blast  and  its  blubbering  neighbor, 
the  gigantic  cauldron  of  boiling  mud.  Fury !  I  wonder 
how  beef  and  plum  pudding  would  boil,  if  wrapped  in  a  tight 
bag  and  immersed  in  this  boiling  clay.  Very  well,  no  doubt. 
Methinks 'twas  very  wise  in  the  Almighty  placing  these  prom- 
inent and  numerous  exhibitions  of  internal  heat  in  a  "  far  off" 
and  thinly  peopled  land,  where  all  the  folks  are  incurious,  and 
not  disposed  to  pry  into  nature's  sublime  secrets  farther 
than  she  chooses  to  show  them.  Now,  if  these  ebullitions 
of  old  Dame  Nature's  cauldron  were  in  America,  some 
shrewd  Yankee  or  joint-stock  company  would  go  to  boring 
right  down  to  the  center,  to  get  at  the  fountain  head ;  and 
after  getting  a  supply  of  steam,  proceed  to  let  it  out  in 
streams,  to  turn  grist-mills,  saw  logs,  cook  hotel  dinners, 
pump  water,  drain  marshes,  and  do  many  other  "  acts  and 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  209 

things  that  a  free  and  independent "  people  "  may  of  right 
do."  They  would  dig  for  gold,  and  finding  it  not,  be  content 
with  fire.  With  that  fire  they  would  cook,  roast  and  boil, 
warm  themselves,  and  make  baths.  With  the  steam  they 
would  turn  machinery  and  spin  cotton.  Whatever  com- 
pound of  metals,  mines,  or  elements  they  found,  of  that  they 
would  make  riches,  or  at  any  rate  attempt  it,  and  some 
would  succeed.  Some,  I  fear,  would  come  off  as  the  alche- 
mist in  Festus  did,  when  the  Devil  taught  him.  Lucifer,  in 
the  garb  of  a  gentleman,  and  manners  of  a  scholar,  says — 

"I  have  a  secret  I  would  fain  impart 
To  one  who  would  make  right  use  of  it.     Now  mark! 
Chemists  say  there  are  fifty  elements, 
And  more  ; — would'st  know  a  ready  recipe 
For  riches  ? 

Friend.    That,  indeed,  I  would,  good  sir. 

Lucifer.   Get,  then,  these  fifty  earths,  or  elements, 
Or  what  not.     Mix  them  up  together.     Put 
All  to  the  question.     Tease  them  well  with  fire, 
Vapor,  and  trituration — every  way ; 
Add  the  right  quantity  of  lunar  rays ; 
Boil  them  and  let  them  cool,  and  watch  what  comes. 

Friend.   Thrice  greatest  Hermes !  but  it  must  be ;  yes ! 
I'll  go  and  get  them ;  good  day — instantly.     [Goes. 

Lucifer.   He'll  be  astonished,  probably. 

Festus.  He  will, 

In  any  issue  of  the  experiment. 
Perhaps  the  nostrum  may  explode,  and  blow  him, 
Body  and  soul,  to  atoms  and  to ." 


And  I  wonder  where  he'll  find  himself?     Somewhere,  no 
10 


210  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

doubt.  But  I  am  not  going  to  moralize  on  what  might  be, 
or  what  will  be,  when  philosophers  come  to  Iceland  and 
bore  out  artesian  wells.  Perhaps  if  they  do,  they'll  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  some  of  the  Icelanders  have,  that  the 
entrance  to  a  certain  warm  region  is  not  far  from  this  coun- 
try. These  good  people  are  very  sensible,  in  leading  up- 
right, moral  lives. 

But  a  mountain  lies  before  me,  and  I  must  ride.  We 
had  sharp  climbing  for  nearly  a  mile,  and  relieved  the  po- 
nies by  getting  off  and  walking  up  a  portion  of  the  way. 
On  the  summit  of  the  mountain  pass — perhaps  1,500  feet 
above  the  plain — we  had  an  extensive  view.  A  long  range 
of  mountains  extended  far  to  the  east  and  northeast ;  on  the 
west  were  separate  peaks ;  and  to  the  south  we  could  see  far 
out  on  the  ocean.  Smoke  and  steam  from  hot  springs  and 
sulphur  mines,  rose  up  in  various  places. 

Our  descent  on  the  north  side  of  the  sulphur  mountains 
was  far  more  gradual,  and  quite  circuitous.  Passing  from 
a  plain  through  a  rocky  defile,  there  I  saw  the  foot-prints  of 
a  former  traveler,  and  where  he  had  attempted  to  immor- 
talize himself.  It  was  not  President  Fillmore,  of  the  United 
States,  but  plain  Mr.  Philmore,  of  England.  He  was  here 
the  year  before,  and  my  present  guide  had  been  his.  There, 
on  the  face  of  a  large  rock,  he  had  cut  with  considerable 
labor,  the  letter  "  P,"  the  initial  of  his  name.  As  it  hap- 
pened to  be  one  of  the  initial  letters  of  my  name,  I  dis- 
mounted, and  finished  the  business  with  my  knife,  by  cut- 
ting in  the  rock  my  other  initial,  the  letter  "  M."  The  rock 
was  a  soft  kind  of  pumice,  and  soon  a  gigantic  M.  stood  at 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  211 

the  right  of  the  P.  Now,  future  travelers  who  come  this 
way,  will  learn  with  delight  that  the  illustrious  "  Plinio 
Myghellz  "  one  day  penetrated  the  rocky  defiles,  and  clam- 
bered up  the  snow  clad  mountains  of  Iceland  !  By  the 
scrupulously  conscientious,  it  may  be  alleged  that  I  stole 
another  man's  thunder,  or  at  least  the  P  with  which  he 
put  it  down.  But  of  what  use  is  half  of  a  man's  initials  ?  It 
scarcely  means  any  thing;  and,  like  half  a  pair  of  scis*sors, 
cannot  cut  any  thing ;  or  like  an  old  bachelor,  without 
t'other  half,  "  isn't  good  for  nothing."  Now,  he  put  down 
the  P,  and  I  mated  it  with  the  M,  and  there  the  two,  keep- 
ing one  another  company,  will  flourish  to  everlasting  glory. 
"  Plinio  Myghellz,"  you  are  famous ;  and  you,  Mr.  Phil- 
more,  you're  "  no  whar." 

We  now  traveled  over  the  most  extraordinary  road  I've 
ever  seen  on  the  face  of  the  globe.  It  must  have  been  a 
vast  labor  to  make  it  passable  ;  but  passable  it  was,  and  that 
was  all.  It  was  a  bed  of  lava  several  miles  in  extent,  and 
known  as  the  "  horrible  lava."  Indeed  the  road  was  a 
horrible  one,  and  I  only  wonder  a  road  could  have  been 
made  at  all  that  would  be  passable  for  man  or  beast. 
Imagine  a  plain  overflowed  with  melted  lava  to  an  indefi- 
nite depth,  say  fifty  to  a  hundred  feet.  Then  on  cooling, 
this  broke  up  in  masses  of  rock  of  every  imaginable  shape 

I  and  size  ;  only  none  of  it  was  small  or  smooth  or  regular, — 
rough  and  sharp  peaks  and  edges,  twenty  feet  above  the 
average  surface ;  and  deep,  yawning  cracks  or  seams  ap- 
peared, fifty  or  a  hundred  feet  deep,  and  large  enough  to 
swallow  up  horse   and  rider.     To  make  a  road,  the  rocks 


212  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

were  broken  down,  and  crevices  were  filled  up,  to  that  ex- 
tent that  the  sure-footed  Iceland  ponies  got  over  it  with 
safety.  Sometimes  they  jumped  over  the  seams,  and  some- 
times they  clambered  or  crawled  over  the  rugged  rocks.  For 
five  or  six  miles  it  was  all  desolation ;  not  one  drop  of  water, 
not  a  single  blade  of  grass,  not  one  living  bird,  not  a  house, 
not  a  single  scrubby  tree,  nor,  apparently,  a  single  specimen 
of  animal  or  vegetable  life,  save  an  inferior  kind  of  moss  or 
lichen  that  clung  to  the  rocks.  We  could  see,  now  and 
then,  a  patch  of  stunted  heather.  Such  is  the  process  and 
progress  of  nature  in  Iceland.  Lava  overflows  the  land, 
and  for  hundreds  of  years  it  stands  up,  cold,  black,  and  na- 
ked. Finally,  a  slight  and  thin  species  of  moss — one  of  the 
most  inferior  lichens — begins  to  cover  the  rocks  with  a 
delicate  brown  or  pale  green.  After  a  long  period — some- 
body else  must  tell  how  long,  for  I  can  not, — by  the  winds 
carrying  on  the  dust,  by  the  flight  and  rest  of  birds,  by 
insects  and  the  growth  of  mosses,  a  little  soil  appears,  just 
sufficient  to  support  a  scattering  and  scanty  growth  of 
heather.  And  now  this  beautiful  little  shrub  lights  up  and 
adorns  the  desert  waste.  If  you  look  on  Gunnlaugsson's 
large  map  of  Iceland — a  map  made  from  surveys  and  ob- 
servations extending  over  Iceland  for  twelve  years,  it  will  be 
seen  that  the  green,  or  agricultural  portion,  is  not  more 
than  one-third  of  it;  and  about  one-half  of  the  remainder — 
another  third  of  the  island — is  a  pink  color,  indicating  the 
growth  of  the  heath  ;  and  the  balance  is  snowy  mountains, 
sandy  deserts,  and  black  and  barren  lava.  Such  is  the  sur- 
face of  Iceland.     After  the  bare  lava  tract  has  been  sue- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  213 

ceeded  by  a  growth  of  heath,  another  long  period  is  neces- 
sary to  get  a  sufficient  accumulation  of  soil  to  support  a 
growth  of  grass,  the  most  valuable  and  extensive  vegetable 
product  of  the  country.  I  have  noticed  on  a  beautiful 
meadow,  where  the  turf  had  been  disturbed,  that  only  six 
or  eight  inches  below  the  surface,  the  rugged  lava  appeared. 
I  have  mentioned  that  no  country  shows  more  beautiful 
meadows,  or  produces  more  fragrant  hay  than  Iceland. 
It  is  of  short  growth,  but  remarkably  sweet,  and  I  am 
sure  more  valuable,  taken  by  weight,  than  the  coarser  hay 
grown  in  England  and  America. 

Soon  after  getting  across  the  plain  of  "  horrible  lava," 
we  rode  over  a  low  mountain ;  and  before  us  was  the  town 
of  Hafnarfiorth.  This  is  a  nice  village,  nestled  in  a  quiet 
little  nook ;  and  in  its  harbor  were  two  or  three  vessels. 
To  those  who  have  seen  the  town  of  Scalloway,  in  Shet- 
land, this  place  bears  some  resemblance.  Back  of  Scal- 
loway, the  hills  rise  more  abruptly  than  here.  The  vil- 
lage, though  apparently  near,  was  several  miles  away,  and 
we  rode  by  a  good  many  fine  farms,  with  beautiful,  green 
meadows,  showing  a  marked  contrast  to  the  lava  tract  that 
we  had  passed.  I  had  been  here  once  before,  as  mentioned 
in  a  former  chapter,  and  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  very 
agreeable  and  hospitable  Danish  gentleman  and  his  wife. 
My  first  visit  was  with  Professor  Johnson,  and  he  did 
the  talking  on  both  sides;  mine  host,  whose  name  also 
was  Johnson,  conversing  only  in  Danish  and  Icelandic. 
Knocking  at  the  door  of  the  nice  little  white  house, 
it  was  opened    at   once,   and   there    was   a  house   full  of 


214  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

young  Icelandic  ladies, — indeed  the  prettiest  lot  of  Ice- 
land fair  ones  that  I  had  seen  at  one  time.  Neatly- 
dressed,  and  beautiful  girls  they  were ;  not  one  plain  one 
among  them.  All  were  at  work,  knitting,  just  as  we  see 
the  good  dames  in  America,  when  they  "go  visiting"  in 
the  country.  One  had  on  the  little  Icelandic  black  woolen 
cap,  with  silk  tassel,  the  head-dress  of  the  country  ;  and  the 
others  wore  nothing  on  their  heads,  dressing  in  the  Danish 
style,  which  differs  but  little  from  the  "  fashions  "  in  Paris, 
London,  and  New  York.  The  good  little  lady  of  the  house 
greeted  me  very  cordially ;  but  she  was  in  a  terrible  fix,  for 
she  could  not  talk  with  me.  She  tried  Danish,  then  Ice- 
landic ;  and  I  attempted  the  same,  stumbled  through  two 
or  three  sentences,  stuck  fast,  went  on  again,  and  finally 
broke  down  altogether,  ending  in  a  hearty  laugh  all  round, 
at  my  expense.  Never  mind;  it's  no  hard  task  to  be 
laughed  at  by  a  bevy  of  pretty  girls.  Mr.  Johnson  was 
not  at  home,  having  gone  to  Reykjavik.  Though  the  poor 
little  lady  couldn't  find  her  tongue,  at  least  to  any  effect ; 
but  I  can  tell  what  she  did  find.  She  went  to  her  closet 
and  found  a  bottle  of  capital  wine,  and  she  put  it  on  the 
table  at  once ;  and  I  shall  not  tell  how  many  glasses  of  it 
went  under  my  jacket  before  I  left. 

After  partaking  of  the  solids  and  fluids  that  my  fair 
hostess  set  before  me,  I  rose  to  depart.  Wishing  them  all 
a  very  good  day  in  the  best  Icelandic  I  could  muster,  and 
shaking  hands  all  round — -the  usual  affectionate  parting 
salute  I  did  not  dare  attempt,  being  a  naturally  bashful 
man ! — I  mounted  my  horse  and  rode  off.     It  was  after 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  215 

nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  the  sun  was  bending  low 
toward  the  Greenland  sea.  Hafnarfiorth  is  the  finest 
Iceland  town  I  have  seen,  except  the  capital ;  and  it  has  a 
fine  harbor.  It  is  quite  as  beautiful  in  shape,  and  as 
secure  for  shipping,  as  Sackett's  Harbor,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
The  land  nearly  surrounds  the  harbor,  forming  about  three 
quarters  of  a  circle.  Large  stacks  of  codfish  were  piled  up, 
and  great  quantities  were  scattered  about  on  the  gravelly 
beach,  drying.  After  once  thoroughly  dry,  they  tell  me  it 
does  not  hurt  the  fish  to  rain  on  them ;  and  they  leave  them 
out  of  doors  with  impunity.  They  put  boards  and  heavy 
stones  on  the  piles  to  keep  them  from  blowing  away.  In 
this  primitive  community,  all  goods  are  safe  under  the 
broad  canopy  of  heaven,  as  "  thieves  do  not  break  through, 
nor  steal."  Visiting  seemed  to  be  the  order  of  the  day 
at  Hafnarfiorth.  Several  horses  stood  about,  with  the 
curiously  shaped  side-saddles  on  them — like  an  arm- 
chair— peculiar  to  the  country.  Boys  were  holding  some 
of  these ;  and  some  little  girls,  having  got  helped  to  seats  in 
the  large  saddles,  were  galloping  the  little  ponies  round 
in  fine  style.  They  were  bare-headed,  with  their  long  hair 
streaming  in  the  wind ;  and  they  seemed  to  think  riding 
was  capital  fun.  In  fact,  I  never  saw  an  Icelander,  male 
or  female,  who  was  too  young  to  sit  in  the  saddle.  These 
little  northern  nymphs  seem  to  take  to  riding  as  naturally 
as  the  South  Sea  islanders  do  to  swimming.  The  village  of 
Hafnarfiorth  has  twenty  or  thirty  houses,  and  perhaps  two 
hundred  inhabitants.     There  is  but  one  street,  and  that  is 


216  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

bounded  on  one  side  by  the  water,  with  the  houses  and 
stores  on  the  other ;  and  it  runs  in  a  circle  nearly  round  the 
harbor,  close  to  the  water's  edge.  If  any  one  comes  here 
and  wants  to  know  where  my  friend  Johnson  lives,  I  can 
tell  him ;  always  provided  he  does  not  move,  and  no 
houses  are  built  beyond  his.  It  is  the  last  house — a  neat 
little  white,  story-and-a-half  one — on  the  southern  side  of 
the  harbor,  the  side  opposite  to  Reykjavik.  In  journeying 
from  here  north,  we  had  to  climb  directly  up  a  very  steep 
ascent,  to  get  on  the  lava  bed  that  covers  the  ground  for 
many  miles.  It  was  six  miles  to  Reykjavik,  the  road 
passing  within  about  a  mile  of  Bessastath,  for  a  great 
many  years  the  site  of  the  Iceland  college.  Had  I  not  by 
this  time  been  accustomed  to  all  sorts  of  traveling — swim- 
ming, tumbling,  flying,  and  ballooning — I  should  have 
called  this  road  a  bad  one.  Indeed,  it  was  abominable; 
but  I  was  accustomed  to  it.  There's  nothing  like  habit. 
Long  practice  may  make  sleeping  on  a  solid  rock  go  as 
well  as  a  bed  of  down. 

Rocks  were  piled  on  rocks,  and  deep  and  broad  cracks 
and  seams  were  seen  at  intervals.  Across  one  chasm 
through  which,  deep  in  the  earth,  we  could  hear  a  stream 
of  water  running,  was  thrown  a  natural  arch  of  lava,  that 
served  as  a  bridge  where  the  road  crosses.  Winding  round 
a  couple  of  deep  bays  that  set  back  from  the  sea,  we  put 
our  ponies  through,  at  the  top  of  their  speed ;  they  seemed 
to  appreciate  their  approach  towards  home ;  and  at  about 
11  o'clock,  we  jumped  from  our  saddles,  and  with  a  loud 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  217 

hurrah,  dashed  into  the  hotel  at  Reykjavik,  where  I  met 
my  old  friend,  President  Johnson, 

"  A  drinking  of  his  wine." 

He  shook  my  hand  so  heartily  I  thought  he  would  unjoint 
the  elbow  :  "  My  dear  Yankee  friend,  how  are  you  ;  and 
how  is  old  mount  Hekla,  and  the  big  Geyser,  and  all  the 
little  Geysers;  and  how  are  my  friends, the  sulphur  mount- 
ains ?"  "  Why,  high,  hot,  and  smoking  ;  how  should  they 
be,  my  literary  loon?"  "And  a  fine  tour  you've  had,  I 
hope."  "  Well,  I  have,  my  boy ;  clear  to  the  top  of  old 
King  Coal.  Yes,  and  a  peep  into  the  crater."  "Well, 
you're  one  of  the  boys ;  and  I  wish  I  could  go  across  the 
Atlantic,  and  see  old  Niagara  with  you."  And  here  I  had 
a  bed ;  no  more  sleeping  in  churches ;  a  bed  on  an  old- 
fashioned  camp  bedstead — two  letter  X's ;  high  diddle  did- 
dle, the  fool  in  the  middle,  like  the  circus  clown  with  a 
hoop  over  his  head. 


CHAPTEK    XX. 

The  nice  young  man,  the  modern  youth, 
Who  drinks,  and  swears,  and  rakes, 

Does  little  work,  speaks  little  truth, 
But  plays  at  pucks  andj>RAKEs. 


Old  Play. 


If  a  man  wishes  to  study  ornithology,  let  him  go  to 
Iceland.  The  most  beautiful  birds  in  the  world,  those  hav- 
ing the  most  brilliant,  and  finest,  and  warmest  plumage, 
are  to  be  found  in  the  Arctic  regions.  Some  of  the  game- 
birds  of  Iceland,  I  have  spoken  of.  The  greatest  favorites 
and  the  most  valuable  of  all  the  feathered  tribes  here  are 
the  eider  ducks.  Their  down  is  the  lightest  and  softest  of 
animal  coverings,  probably  the  worst  conductor  of  heat, 
and  therefore  the  warmest  clothing,  that  is  known.  The 
eider  down  has  long  been  one  of  the  most  important  of  the 
products  of  Iceland,  and  until  lately  has  usually  sold  at 
several  dollars  a  pound.  The  kings  and  princes  of  the 
north  of  .Europe  do  not  sleep  on  the  down  of  the  cygnets 
of  the  Ganges,  but  on  and  under  the  down  of  the  eider 
duck.  The  increased  products,  the  varied  manufactures, 
and  the  widely  extended  commerce  of  the  world,  have 
brought  into  use  other  materials  more  conducive  to  comfort 
and  health  than  the  eider  down ;  and  the  consequence  has 
been,  the  price  has  greatly  fallen,  so  that  now  the  poor 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  219 

peasant  can  sleep  on  down,  and  it  can  be  purchased  for  less 
than  fifty  cents  a  pound. 

The  eider  duck — Somateria  molissima — is  a  large  and 
fine-looking  bird.  The  male  is  over  two  feet  in  length,  and 
weighs  six  or  seven  pounds.  His  back,  breast,  and  neck  are 
white,  inclining  to  a  pale  blue ;  the  sides  white ;  the  lower 
part  of  the  wings,  the  tail,  and  the  top  of  the  head  black. 
On  the  water,  he  is  as  graceful  as  a  swan.  The  female  is 
much  smaller  than  the  male,  and  differently  colored.  The 
female  is  pale  yellowish  brown,  mottled  with  both  white 
and  black.  The  tips  of  the  wings  are  white,  the  tail  a 
brownish  black.  But  a  poor  idea  is  given,  however,  of  the 
looks  of  these  birds  by  an  enumeration  of  their  colors. 
The  down  is  a  sort  of  brown  or  mouse  color.  These  sin- 
gular birds  have  both  the  character  of  wild  and  domestica- 
ted fowls.  Iu  the  winter  they  are  so  wild  that  it  is  difficult 
to  come  near  them,  but  in  the  breeding  season — the  month 
of  June — they  are  tamer  than  barn-door  fowls.  On  the 
islands  all  around  Iceland,  and  many  parts  of  the  main 
shore,  they  cover  the  land  with  their  nests.  When  left  to 
themselves  the  brood  of  the  eider  duck  does  not  exceed 
four ;  but  remove  the  eggs  daily,  and  she  will  continue  to 
lay  for- weeks.  The  drake  is  a  very  domestic  husband,  and 
assists  in  all' the  little  household  arrangements  previous  to 
the  advent  of  the  little  ducklings.  They  build  not  far 
from  the  water,  making  the  nest  of  sea  weeds  and  fine 
grass,  and  lining  it  with  the  exquisite,  soft  down  which  the 
female  plucks  from  her  breast.  If  you  approach  the  nest — 
which  is  always  near  the  water — the  drake  will  give  a  hos- 


220  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

tile  look  at  you,  then  plunge  into  the  sea  with  great 
violence  ;  but  the  female  stands  her  ground.  If  in  a  gentle 
humor  and  used  to  seeing  company,  she  will  let  you  stroke 
her  back  with  your  hand,  and  even  take  the  eggs  and  down 
from  under  her.  Sometimes  she  will  fight  and  strike  with 
her  sharp  beak,  and  she  gives  a  blow  in  earnest.  On  finding 
the  down  gone  from  the  nest,  she  plucks  off  more,  and 
when  the  supply  fails,  the  drake  assists  in  furnishing  it.  I 
have  been  told,  if  their  nests  are  robbed  of  the  down  more 
than  twice,  they  abandon  the  place,  and  will  not  return 
there  the  following  season.  Half  a  pound  is  the  usual 
quantity  taken  from  a  nest,  and  this  seems  a  great  deal,  for 
the  domestic  goose  at  a  single  picking  rarely  yields  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  pound  of  feathers.  A  greater  quantity 
of  down  is  gathered  in  wet  seasons  than  in  dry.  What  im- 
mense quantities  of  these  birds  come  around  Reykjavik, 
and  spend  the  breeding  season,  particularly  on  the  islands 
of  Engey  and  Vithey  in  the  harbor !  Around  the  houses 
and  frequently  all  over  the  roofs,  their  nests  are  so  thick 
that  you  can  scarcely  walk  without  treading  on  them.  The 
inhabitants  get  eggs  enough  to  half  supply  them  with  food. 
The  eggs  are  the  size  and  about  the  color  of  hen's  eggs, 
though  not  quite  so  white,  rather  inclining  to  a  yellow. 
They  are  nearly  equal  in  quality  to  those  of  barn  fowls. 
After  the  young  are  hatched,  their  education  commences 
immediately.  They  graduate  after  two  lessons.  The  old 
duck  takes  them  on  her  back,  swims  out  into  the  ocean, 
then  suddenly  dives,  leaving  the  little  mariners  afloat. 

Of  course  they  swim.     It  gets  their  feet  wet ;  but  they 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  221 

don't  mind  that,  as  they  never  wear  any  stockings.  In  the 
winter  the  eider  ducks  seldom  go  far  from  Iceland.  They 
visit  the  outer  skerries,  and  go  to  the  Faroes,  and  some  to 
Orkney  and  Shetland.  They  breed  some  in  these  islands 
and  the  Hebrides,  and  sometimes  on  the  main  shore  of 
Great  Britain.  Varieties  of  the  eider  duck  are  found  in  all 
the  northern  regions,  Siberia,  Kamtchatka,  Behring's  Straits, 
Labrador,  and  as  far  south  as  New  Brunswick.  It  seems  a 
wonder,  among  all  the  bird  fanciers,  that  some  attempt  is 
not  made  in  England  or  our  Northern  States  to  domesticate 
them.  Let  some  Captain  Waterton  give  them  a  chance  ; 
and  even  if  they  fly  away  after  the  breeding  season,  it  gives 
them  the  wider  liberty,  and  the  owner  saves  their  keeping. 
The  flesh  of  these  birds  is  excellent,  better  than  any  other 
sea-fowl.  In  Iceland  their  value  is  so  great,  for  their  eggs 
and  down,  that  there  is  a  law  against  shooting  them.  For 
the  first  offense  a  man  is  fined  a  dollar,  and  for  the  next  he 
forfeits  his  gun.  They  are  greatly  alarmed  at  guns,  and,  if 
often  fired  among,  they  quit  the  coast.  So,  with  kind  treat- 
ment they  give  a  good  return,  but  treat  them  unkindly  and 
they  will  not  return  at  all.  The  power  of  flight  of  this 
bird,  considering  his  weight,  is  almost  incredible.  Mudie 
puts  it  down  at  ninety  miles  an  hour.  One  variety,  the 
"  western  eider  " — somateria  dispar — is  only  found  a  native 
of  the  northern  part  of  the  Pacific,  on  both  the  Asiatic 
coast  and  in  the  Russian  possessions  of  North  America, 
One  of  these  birds,  in  a  wild  state,  a  solitary  straggler,  in 
"  good  condition,"  was  found  near  Yarmouth,  on  the  east- 
ern coast  of  England.     That  was  the  only  specimen  of  this 


222  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

species  ever  seen  in  the  British  isles.  What  a  journey  was 
that !  He  must  have  flown  from  eastern  Siberia  entirely 
across  Asia  and  Europe !  Were  man  endowed  with  such 
powers,  either  natural  or  artificial,  would  he  not  be  a  trav- 
eler ?  I  can  only  speak  for  one,  but  I  say  this  boy  would 
be  a  rover  if  he  could  go  like  the  eider  duck !  I  wonder 
if  there  are  any  Humboldts  among  birds.  If  this  one  had 
not  been  invited  to  stay  in  England  to  adorn  some  museum, 
he  would  have  had  a  good  budget  of  adventures  to  relate 
by  the  time  he  had  completed  the  circuit  of  the  globe. 
And  is  it  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  birds  sometimes 
actually  fly  round  the  world  ? 

But  there's  one  beautiful  and  interesting  bird  that  has 
never  revealed  himself  to  the  ornithologists  of  Europe, 
except  on  the  lonely  cliffs  of  the  Meal  Sack  Island,  far  from 
the  main  land  and  the  haunts  of  men.  Here  they  can  be 
found  for  about  three  months  in  the  summer.  Not  a  speci- 
men of  this  bird  is  known  to  exist  in  any  collection.  Some 
Danish  naturalists  have  for  years  offered  $200  for  a  pair, 
either  dead  or  alive.  The  great  danger  in  approaching 
this  almost  inaccessible  island,  with  the  strong  currents  that 
run  by  it,  and  the  wild  nature  of  the  bird,  have,  so  far, 
defied  the  efforts  of  yachtsmen,  travelers,  hunters,  and 
fishermen.  The  Icelander  scarcely  ever  does  any  thing  for 
the  sport  or  adventure  of  the  thing;  and  rarely  will  a  large 
reward  tempt  him  to  go  into  any  scene  possessing  much 
novelty  or  danger,  unless  his  own  direct  duty  lies  in  that 
direction.  I  have  seen  a  water- color  drawing  of  this  bird, 
at  a  gentleman's  house  at  Reykjavik.     He  evidently  be- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  223 

longs  to  the  penguin  tribe.  He  is  not  as  large  as  the  pen- 
guin, but  about  two  feet  in  height,  and  stands  as  straight 
up  as  a  man.  His  back  is  dark  colored,  nearly  black,  and 
the  belly  white.  It  is  evidently  a  marine  bird,  and  one 
fond  of  lonely  regions  and  cold  climates,  and  at  this  time 
possesses  much  interest,  simply  because  we  cannot  catch 
him.  He  is  entitled  to  his  liberty ;  at  least  I  shall  give 
him  my  vote  to  allow  him  to  remain  in  his  present  free  and 
independent  state.  I  have  his  Latin  name  written  down ; 
and  anyone  that  is  good  at  deciphering  bad  writing,  and 
thinks  he  can  read  this  language  of  the  Caesars  when  writ- 
ten by  a  Dane,  may  examine  this  singular  specimen  of  chi- 
rography.  It  appears  to  me,  to  be  as  difficult  to  hunt  out 
as  a  sample  of  the  bird  itself. 

I  have  now  to  speak  of  a  far  different  specimen  of  the 
feathered  tribe — the  cormorant.  He  is  a  vile  bird.  I  say 
vile,  for  he's  a  glutton  ;  his  flesh  is  rank  and  unsavory,  and 
he's  far  from  being  a  neat,  tidy  bird.  The  cormorant — 
Carbo  cormoranus — is  common  on  the  shores  of  Europe 
and  America,  and  in  the  islands  of  the  sea  as  far  north  as 
the  Arctic  circle.  They  are  apparently  larger  than  the 
goose,  but  not  so  heavy.  Color  black,  except  the  wings 
dark  brown,  and  sides  of  the  head  and  a  spot  on  the  thigh 
white.  Though  web-footed,  he  perches  on  trees,  and  some- 
times builds  his  nest  there.  The  bill  of  the  cormorant  is 
about  five  inches  in  length,  the  upper  mandible  much 
hooked.  With  this  he  takes  his  prey,  the  unlucky  loiterers 
of  the  finny  tribe.  He  catches  them  usually  across,  and, 
if  large,  he   often  rises   in   the   air,   throws   up   the   fish? 


224  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  as  it  falls  head  first  lie  catches  him  endwise,  and  the 
fish,  while  struggling  with  life,  finds  a  grave  in  the  cormo- 
rant's stomach.  He  will  eat  his  own  weight  of  fish  in  one 
day ;  and  then,  gorged  to  stupidity,  he  flies  to  a  lonely  cliff 
spreads  out  his  wings  to  dry,  and  lays  there  in  a  state  of 
half  torpor  for  several  hours,  like  an  anaconda  after  he  has 
swallowed  an  ox.  In  this  state,  if  his  resting-place  is 
accessible,  the  bird  can  be  captured  readily.  At  one  season 
of  the  year — the  breeding  time — this  bird  and  the  shag, 
another  species  of  cormorant,  have  a  crest  on  the  head,  of 
greenish  feathers.     These  afterwards  disappear. 

A  far  more  elegant  and  interesting  bird,  is  the  gannet  or 
Solan  goose — Sula  bassana.  On  the  wing,  the  gannet  is 
the  most  striking-looking  bird  I  have  ever  seen.  They  are 
three  feet  in  length,  and  their  wings  stretch  six  feet.  They 
are  white,  except  the  outer  half  of  the  wing,  which  is  black, 
the  bill,  legs,  and  feet  black,  and  head  yellow.  What 
crowds  of  them  we  saw,  both  in  the  air  and  on  the  water, 
off  Cape  Skagen,  near  the  southwestern  part  of  Iceland ! 
During  the  summer,  the  Meal-Sack  Island  swarms  with 
them.  The  female  lays  but  one  or  two  eggs,  nearly  white, 
but  not  much  larger  than  the  common  duck's  eggy  though 
the  bird  is  as  large  as  the  goose.  The  gannet  is  exceedingly 
fond  of  rocky  islands  a  little  way  from  the  main  shore,  like 
the  Bass  rock  in  the  Forth,  the  Ailsa  Craig  in  the  Clyde, 
and  on  the  Iceland  Meal-Sack.  By  these  and  similar 
places  is  either  a  strong  current  or  a  strong  run  of  tide,  and 
here  are  plenty  of  fish.  Herrings,  and  very  often  cod  and 
haddock,  are  their  favorite  prey.     On  the  wing  as  well  as 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  225 

in  the  water,  the  gannet  is  a  powerful  bird.  With  terrible 
impetuosity,  they  descend  from  a  great  height,  and  plung- 
ing into  the  water,  seize  and  carry  off  their  prey.  Like  .all 
fishing  birds,  the  gannet  has  a  keen  sight,  keener  probably 
than  the  eagle,  for  he  can  discern  his  prey  in  the  water, 
while  at  a  great  height,  and  when  the  curl  of  the  surface 
so  scatters  the  light  that  human  vision,  aided  by  all  the 
contrivances  of  science,  cannot  penetrate  a  single  inch. 
How  singular  is  nature  in  all  her  operations  !  But  for  a 
peculiar  structure,  this  bird,  as  swift  as  he  has  to  plunge 
into  the  water,  would  be  killed,  or  at  least  stunned  and  ren- 
dered helpless.  The  cellular  tissue  beneath  the  skin,  on  the 
under  part  of  the  bird,  is  formed  into  air-cells,  and  inflated 
by  a  peculiar  muscular  action ;  and  this  gives  a  surface  of 
great  elasticity,  and  both  breaks  the  force  of  the  blow,  and 
prevents  the  bird  going  very  deep  under  water.  When 
the  gannet  comes  up  with  his  prey,  he  rises  by  a  regular 
momentum  directly  out  of  the  water,  and  is  on  the  wing 
the  instant  he  appears  above  the  surface. 

In  one  more  chapter,  I  shall  complete  my  brief  notices 
of  some  of  the  more  interesting  of  the  birds  common  in 
Iceland. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

The  little  boat  she  is  tossed  about, 

Like  a  sea-weed  to  and  fro; 
The  tall  ship  reels  like  a  drunken  man, 

As  the  gusty  tempests  blow : 
But  the  sea-bird  laughs  at  the  pride  of  man, 
And  sails  in  a  wild  delight, 
*  On  the  torn  up  breast  of  the  night-black  sea, 
Like  a  foam-cloud  calm  and  white. 

Mary  Howitt. 

Among  the  birds  of  the  far  North,  the  snow-bunting — 
Emberiza  nivalis — is  one  of  the  most  interesting.  Who 
has  not  seen  the  pretty  "  snow-bird "  during  a  driving 
snow-storm,  come  round  the  barn  for  some  hay-seed,  or  to 
the  house  for  a  crumb  ?  But  where  do  they  go  in  sum- 
mer? Why,  they  go  to  Iceland,  and  a  nice  time  they 
have  of  it.  They  build  their  nestsin  the  crags ;  and  the 
male  perches  on  some  rock  in  the  vicinity  and  sings  all 
day  long,  while  the  female  lays  five  small  round  eggs. 
The  male  bird  takes  his  turn  in  sitting  on  the  nest ;  and 
they  feed  on  the  seeds  of  grass,  rushes,  and  other  hardy 
northern  plants.  How  extensively  this  bird  migrates,  it  is 
difficult  to  tell.  We  naturally  suppose  that  small  birds 
have  less  power  of  flight  than  large  ones ;  but  the  Mother 
Carey's  chicken  is  found  on  the  stormy  ocean,  a  thousand 
miles  from  land.     In  America,  the  snow-bird  probably  goes 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  227 

to  the  region  of  Labrador  and  Hudson's  Bay  in  summer. 
Some  may  fly  across  Baffin's  Bay  to  Greenland,  or  even 
across  the  Greenland  Strait,  from  there  to  Iceland,  a  jour- 
ney that  would  not  require  a  sea-flight  of  over  300  miles  at 
any  one  place.  The  snow-birds  that  summer  in  Iceland 
may,  and  very  likely  do,  fly  south,  taking  the  range  of  the 
Faros,  Shetland,  and  Orkney,  and  so  to  Scotland,  England, 
and  the  Continent.  Great  numbers  of  these  birds  spend 
their  summer  in  Lapland,  where  they  get  very  fat  on  the 
seeds  that  they  gather  on  the  plains,  and  in  the  lowlands. 
The  Laplanders  kill  many  of  them  for  food,  and  prize  them 
highly.  In  their  winter  plumage  they  are,  like  the  ptarmi- 
gan^  almost  entirely  white ;  but  in  summer  they  are  more  of 
a  brown.  In  summer,  this  bird  is  fond  of  rocky  and  mossy 
places,  where  there  are  no  trees  and  few  bushes. 

A  singular  characteristic  of  most  migrating  birds,  is 
very  conspicuous  in  the  snow-bunting.  The  male  is  most 
sensitive  to  heat,  and  the  female  to  cold.  In  northern 
climes  the  male  of  this,  as  well  as  some  other  birds,  is  often 
seen  in  spring  several  days  before  the  female.  Then  in 
their  autumn  migration  the  female  appears  in  the  region  of 
its  winter  residence  considerably  before  the  male.  We 
should  suppose  they  would  migrate  together,  when  the 
male  bird  would  have  an  opportunity  of  showing  off  his 
gallantry;  which,  with  another  class  of  bipeds,  is  considered 
mutually  agreeable.  Many  of  these  modest  and  unostenta- 
tious birds  have  I  seen,  while  riding  across  the  dreary 
heaths  of  Iceland,  perched  on  a  stone  or  a  mossy  ridge,  and 
singing  and  chippering  away,  as  much  as  to  say,  "  Here  I 


228  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

am,  as  far  north  as  old  Boreas  will  let  me  go."  The  snow- 
birds undoubtedly  take  pretty  long  flights  at  sea,  for  they 
usually  appear  on  the  coast  of  England  and  Scotland  late 
in  the  autumn,  along  with,  and  apparently  driven  by  the 
northeast  winds,  having  undoubtedly  flown  across  the  Ger- 
man Ocean,  from  the  Norwegian  coast.  On  their  arrival, 
they  appear  sadly  emaciated  and  exhausted,  and  some  of 
them  perish.  With  the  wind  that  brings  them,  or  soon 
after,  generally  comes  a  fall  of  snow.  Without  resting  on 
the  water,  like  the  Mother  Carey's  chicken,  the  gull,  the 
pochard,  the  Solan  goose,  and  other  sea-birds,  the  snow-bunt- 
ing must  have  a  weary  time  of  it  in  his  flight  across  the 
stormy  sea. 

Of  gulls,  there  is  almost  an  endless  variety  in  Iceland; 
and,  apparently,  quite  an  endless  quantity.  Some  of  these 
are  very  large,  larger  than  geese ;  and,  though  much  "  run 
to  feathers,"  and  not  as  much  solid  flesh  as  the  goose,  will 
often  weigh  six  or  eight  pounds.  Their  wings  extend  over 
six  feet.  This  bird  is  common,  in  some  of  its  numerous 
families,  wherever  there  is  salt  water ;  but  there  is  one  spe- 
cies peculiar  to  this  country,  and  rarely  found  south  of  here 
— the  Iceland  gull — Larus  Icelandicus.  It  is  a  kind  of  blu- 
ish ash-color  on  the  back,  and  the  rest  of  the  bird  white. 
Like  all  his  brethren,  he  is  a  great  fisherman,  and  he  knows 
where  he  can  go  and  catch  his  dinner. 

The  skua  gull — Lestris  Cataractes — is  a  bird  of  very 
peculiar  habits.  It  is  seldom  found  except  in  the  Arctic  or 
Antarctic  regions.  Captain  Cook  found  it  while  he  was 
skirting  the  polar  ice.     They  are  a  very  exclusive  sort  of 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  229 

bird,  living  in  large  colonies,  where  none  but  their  own  spe- 
cies are  allowed  to  come.  They  are  terrible  fighters ;  and 
other  gulls,  or  even  the  eagle  or  the  raven,  or  scarcely  man 
himself,  can  invade  their  colony  with  impunity.  Against  a 
large  bird  of  prey,  during  the  breeding-season,  they  will 
charge  en  masse  ;  and  wo  be  to  their  enemy  !  He  will  get 
pierced  with  scores  of  angry  beaks.  It  is  hazardous  for 
man,  and  instances  are  mentioned  of  some  who  have  gone 
among  them  without  much  protection  to  their  heads,  and 
actually  got  their  skulls  broken  by  these  powerful  birds. 
These  gulls  are  not  fond  of  fishing ;  they  prefer  that  others, 
should  fish  for  them.  When  the  great  gull,  or  any  other  of 
the  fishing-tribes,  has  got  a  load,  and  filled  his  stomach, 
neck,  and  bill,  with  fish,  and  is  /flying  slowly  and  heavily 
away  to  his  expectant  brood,  this  arrant  freebooter,  the  skua 
gull,  dashes  at  the  sober  fisherman  ;  and  his  only  chance  of 
.life  is  to  disgorge  all  he  has,  and  the  skua  catches  it  in  its 
fall,  or  picks  it  up  from  the  surface  of  the  water  or  land. 
The  Icelanders  sometimes,  in  visiting  the  haunts  of  skua, 
carry  a  sharp  pike  projecting  a  little  above  the  head,  and 
the  heedless  gull  comes  dashing  down  at  the  man,  and  is 
transfixed  on  the  murderous  iron. 

One  of  the  birds  found  in  Iceland,  and  peculiar  to  high 
Arctic  and  Antarctic  regions,  is  the  large  snowy  owl — strix 
nyctea.  This  is  a  magnificent  bird,  two  feet  in  length,  and 
four  feet  and  a  half  in  the  stretch  of  its  wings.  One  of 
these  birds  adorns  the  parlor  of  Mr.  Simpzen,  an  Iceland 
merchant  at  Reykjavik.  This  bird  is  literally  as  white  as 
snow,  though  the  females  and  the  younger  birds  have  some 


230  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

brownish  feathers.  The  snowy  owl  is  a  bird  of  prey,  and 
night  and  day  are  the  same  to  him.  The  ptarmigan  and 
the  tern,  cannot,  all  of  them,  find  food  during  the  long  Ice- 
land winters ;  therefore,  some  of  them,  in  their  turn,  furnish 
dinners  for  his  majesty,  the  white  owl.  When  the  wind 
beats,  and  the  snow  drives,  so  that  they  would  sweep  the 
birds  to  destruction,  out  comes  this  king  of  the  wilds,  clad  in 
his  armor  of  impenetrable  down  and  feathers ;  and,  riding 
on  the  wings  of  the  tempest,  keeps  holiday  amid  the  wildest 
turmoil  of  nature.  All  parts  of  the  bird,  except  the  point  of 
the  beak,  the  nails,  and  the  eye-balls,  are  covered  with 
feathers,  so  that  he  fears  not  the  cold.  This  bird  remains 
the  whole  year  in  Iceland,  and  is  very  rarely,  and  that  in  the 
coldest  of  weather,  found  as  far  south  as  Great  Britain. 

One  more  feathered  resident,  and  I  have  done.  One  of 
the  hawk-tribe,  peculiar  to  this  country,  the  Jer-Falcon — 
Falco  Icelandicus — is  a  most  remarkable  bird.  He  is  pecu- 
liarly adapted  to  the  wilds  of  Iceland,  and  the  cold,  naked 
cliffs  of  the  Northern  Isles.  Though  not  often  seen,  there  is 
no  reason  to  believe  their  numbers  are  as  small  as  might  be 
supposed.  They  are  no  parasites,  like  the  skua  gull.  Not 
they.  They  catch  their  prey  alive  and  on  the  wing ;  and  so 
terrible  and  unerring  is  their  flight,  that  nothing  can  escape 
them.  Except  his  near  relative,  the  peregrine  falcon,  there 
is  probably  not  a  bird  in  the  world  that  can  equal  his  speed 
on  the  wing.  Gray,  like  his  native  cliffs,  he  will  sit  on 
a  projecting  crag,  quiet  for  hours,  until  a  flock  of  rock- 
doves  or  some  ducks,  are  seen  flying  by.  He  leaps  into  the 
air,  vaulting  upwards  till  he  has  "  got  the  sky  "  of  his  prey, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  231 

to  a  sufficient  height  for  gaining  the  necessary  impetus  ;  his 
wings  shiver  for  a  moment,  as  he  works  himself  into  a  per- 
fect command  and  poise,  and  to  the  full  extent  of  his  energy. 
Then  he  dashes  downwards  with  such  velocity  that  the  im- 
pression of  his  path  remains  on  the  sky,  like  that  of  the 
shooting  meteor  or  the  flashing  lightning,  and  you  fancy 
there  is  a  torrent  of  falcons  rushing  through  the  air.  The 
stroke  is  as  unerring  as  the  motion  is  fleet.  If  it  take  effect 
in  the  body,  the  bird  is  trussed,  and  the  hunt  is  over ;  but  if 
a  wing  only  is  broken,  the  maimed  bird  is  allowed  to 
flutter  to  the  earth,  and  another  victim  is  selected.  It  some- 
times  happens  that  some  inferior  bird  of  prey  comes  in  for 
the  wounded  game ;  but  in  order  to  get  it,  he  must  pro- 
ceed cautiously  and  stealthily,  for  wo  betide  it  if  it  rises  on  the 
wing,  and  meets  the  glance  of  the  falcon.  The  raven  him- 
self, never  scoops  out  another  eye,  if  he  rises  to  tempt  that 
one.  This  bird  is  found  in  Norway,  and  sometimes  in  the 
north  of  Scotland.  In  former  days  they  were  used  in  hawk- 
ing, and,  in  consequence  .of  their  strength  and  daring  and 
their  unerring  stroke,  they  were  more  prized  in  falconry  than 
any  other  ;  but  they  were  difficult  to  train ;  and,  conse- 
quently, in  the  days  of  falconry  they  brought  very  high 
prices.  The  velocity  of  their  flight,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
peregrine  falcon,  is  put  down  at  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
an  hour.  Compare  that  to  a  modern  "  express  train  !" 
How  the  latter  lags  behind !  The  flight  of  birds  on  long 
journeys  is  well  ascertained,  and  numerous  instances  are  re- 
corded of  the  amazing  velocity  of  falcons.  King  Henry 
IV.,  of  France,  had  a  peregrine  falcon  that  flew  to  Malta, 


232  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  arrived  there  the  same 
day  that  he  left  Fontainbleau.  Mudie  says,  the  peregrine 
falcon  is  the  falcon,  par  excellence,  of  the  falconers,  on  ac- 
count of  his  rapid,  powerful  flight,  great  tractability,  and 
other  good  qualities. 

The  falcon,  in  falconry,  always  means  the  female,  as 
they  only  are  trained.  The  male  is  called  the  tercel.  In- 
deed, our  Saxon  ancestors  must  have  had  some  lofty  sport. 
Wish  I  had  been  there  !  The  jer-falcon,  our  Iceland  bird, 
is  not  by  any  means  confined  to  his  native  cliffs.  Iceland  is 
four  or  five  hundred  miles  from  Scotland,  but  only  a  morn- 
ing's flight  for  this  fleet  traveler !  He  could  take  his  break- 
fast in  his  native  wilds,  with  the  sun  high  in  the  heavens,  fly 
over  to  Scotland,  dine  on  a  ptarmigan  or  a  rock-dove,  sleep 
through  the  heat  of  the  day,  and  return  to  Iceland  long  be- 
fore sunset.  Such  is  the  flight  of  this  powerful,  swift- 
winged  bird  of  prey. 


CHAPTEE    XXII 


THE    FAROE    ISLES. 


■"  It  is  a  wild  and  wondrous  scene, 


Where  few  but  nature's  footsteps  yet  have  been." 

In  our  outward  as  well  as  return  voyage  we  passed 
near  the  Faroe  Islands.  These,  like  Iceland,  are  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Denmark,  and,  though  near  300  miles  from 
their  northern  neighbor,  have  many  features  in  common 
with  it.  The  scenery  is  singularly  wild  and  picturesque. 
We  sailed  nearly  under  some  of  the  tall  cliffs,  and  could 
plainly  see  the  pillared  columns  of  basalt,  so  common 
throughout  Iceland  and  nearly  all  the  northern  isles.  From 
conversation  with  two  English  gentlemen  that  I  met  a  short 
time  since,  who  had  just  returned  from  Faroe,  where  they 
had  been  "birds'  nesting,"  *  and  from  one  or  two  authentic 
narratives,  I  gathered  some  interesting  particulars  of  their 
topography  and  history.  The  Faroe  Isles  are  probably  less 
known  to  modern  travelers  than  any  inhabited  land  in  the 
northern  sea.  Many  there  are  that  visit  Greenland — some 
catchi  ng  whales  and  seal ;  a  few  to  convert  the  heathen  ; 
some  on  a  scientific  tour  ;  and,  latterly,  many  in  search  of  a 
distinguished  navigator  and  the  haples  screws  of  two  long- 

*  Obtaining  birds'  eggs  of  every  variety  that  could  be  had,  for 
an  ornithological  collection. 
11 


234  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

missing  ships — and  not  unfrequently  do  civilized  men  land 
on  the  bleak  and  frozen  shores  of  Spitzbergen;  and  any 
one  can  visit  Lapland  by  steam ;  but  one  may  go  round  the 
world  and  not  meet  a  christian  man  that  has  stepped  on 
one  of  the  seventeen  of  the  inhabited  islands  of  Faroe.  The 
whole  group  consists  of  twenty-five  islands,  extending  about 
sixty-five  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  forty-five  from  east 
to  west ;  and  containing  a  little  less  than  a  thousand  square 
miles.  They  lie  between  61°  26"  and  62°  25"  N.  Latitude, 
and  6°  40"  and  1°  40"  West  Longitude  from  Greenwich. 
They  are  185  miles  northwest  of  Shetland,  and  400  from 
Norway.  This  much  for  their  location  and  size.  The  sur- 
face of  the  different  islands  varies  in  appearance  consider- 
ably, but  they  all  have  remarkably  bold,  perpendicular 
banks.  The  northeastern  one,  Fugloe — or  Bird-island — is 
quite  flat  on  the  top ;  but  the  banks  on  every  side  are  high 
and  perpendicular,  so  that  boats  must  always  be  raised  and 
lowered  with  ropes.  Oesteroe,  the  largest  but  one,  is  the 
highest  of  the  entire  group,  rising  3,000  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea.  On  some  parts  of  its  precipitous  cliffs  are  majes- 
tic octagonal  pillars  of  basaltic  rock,  a  hundred  feet  high 
and  six  feet  in  diameter.  Were  these  in  a  land  of  popula- 
tion and  wealth  they  would  undoubtedly  be  selected  by 
builders,  and  be  seen  supporting  and  adorning  the  porticoes 
of  temples  of  Grecian  or  Roman  architecture.  One  of  these 
pillars,  sixty  feet  in  length,  has  fallen  across  a  deep  cha<=m, 
and  forms  a  natural  bridge  from  one  side  to  the  other. 
Another  enormous  mass  of  rock,  twenty-four  feet  long  by 
eighteen  broad  is  so  exactly  balanced  across  another  that 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  235 

the  strength  of  a  finger  will  vibrate  it ;  and  though  the 
waves  have  been  dashing  against  it  for  ages,  there  it  remains, 
poised  on  a  pivot,  like  the  famous  rocking  stone  in  Corn- 
wall. 

Stromoe,  south  of  Oesteroe,  is  the  largest  of  the  Faroe 
group,  and  is  27  miles  long  by  about  7  broad,  and  contains 
140  square  miles.  On  this  island  is  Thorshaven,  the  capi- 
tal and  principal  seaport.  The  Danish  post-ship  between 
Denmark  and  Iceland,  lands  here  twice  or  three  times  in  a 
year.  Thorshaven  has  a  church,  and  about  100  dwellings; 
some  of  them  comfortable  framed  houses.  This  important 
place  is  well  protected  by  a  substantial  fort — an  excellent 
fortification,  that  lacks  but  one  essential  article,  cannon ! 
However,  there  is  little  chance  that  they  would  ever  be 
needed  did  they  have  them.  Were  there  any  thing  here 
worth  the  trouble  of  an  invading  army  or  a  piratical  crew, 
at  the  most  favorable  landing  on  the  islands,  the  natives 
would  stand  a  good  chance  to  crush  their  invaders  with 
their  natural  means  of  defense,  and  keep  them  off  by  rolling 
stones  down  upon  them.  But  what  freaks  old  nature  plays 
here  among  these  tall  cliffs  !  What  houses  for  sea-monsters 
does  old  ocean  create!  The  island  of  Nalsoe  is  pierced 
from  side  to  side,  so  that  in  calm  weather  a  boat  can  sail 
through  it,  under  a  natural  arch,  with  near  2,000  feet  of 
solid  rock  overhead.  At  the  northern  end  of  Stromoe  is  the 
promontory  of  Myling,  which  rises  perpendicularly  to  the 
height  of  2,500  feet.  If  the  spectator  had  nerve  enough,  he 
might  go  to  the  brink,  and  toss  a  pebble  clear  into  the  sea 
from  the  lofty  summit.     One  singular  rock  in  this  group  of 


236  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

islands,  rises  out  of  the  water  like  a  lofty  spire,  and  is  called 
by  the  natives  the  Trollekone-finger,  or  witch's  finger.     The 
most   western   of   the  islands  is  Myggeness ;    and,  though 
inhabited,  is  so  difficult  of  access  that  communication  be- 
tween that  and  the  rest  of  the  group  is  not  usually  more 
than  three  or  four  times  a  year.     It  is  surrounded  by  preci- 
pitous cliffs,  from  1,200  to  1,400  feet  in  height;  and  the  pas- 
sage or  north  between  this  and  the  neighboring  island  is  the 
most  dangerous  in  the  group.     Off  Myggeness,  is  Myggeness- 
holm, — a  precipitous  rock  standing  alone  in  the  sea,  like  a 
solitary  sentinel  attendant  on  the  larger  isle.     Any  one  who 
has  seen  the  Meal-sack  island  off  the  southwest  coast  of  Ice- 
land, or  the  Holm  of  the  Noss  in  the  Shetland  group,  or 
Ailsa  Craig  in  the  Clyde,  will  have  an  idea  of  the  appear- 
ance of  this  rocky  islet..     This  is  the  only  island  in  the 
Faroe  group  where  the  Gannet,  or  Solan  Goose,  builds  its 
nest.     The  choice  of  such  a  location  as  this,  or  Ailsa  Craig, 
or  the  Meal-sack — all  favorite  localities  of  this  bird — is  not 
altogether  from   the   generally  inaccessible   nature   of  the 
place    and   its   consequent   immunity  from   hostile   man — 
though  this  is  some  consideration.     These  haunts  of  the  gan- 
net are  always  near  a  good  "  run  "  of  fish,  and  this  is  usually 
where  there  is  a  strong  flow  of  the  tide  between  two  islands 
or  between  an  island  and  the  main  shore.     Graba,  a  late 
traveler  in  Faroe,  speaks  of  landing  on  the  small  island  of 
Store  Dimon.     He  says  the  clergyman  visits  this  island  but 
once  a  year,  and  the  sides  are  so  steep  they  have  to  pull  him 
up  with  ropes  as- they  would  a  bag  of  meal.     When  Graba 
landed,  the  natives  pushed  one  of  their  number  up  the  rocks, 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  237 

•with  their  long  sticks  that  they  use  in  bird-catching,  and 
then  he  drew  up  the  rest.  In  this  way  they  all  passed  from 
one  cliff  to  another,  till  they  arrived  at  the  top,  250  feet 
above  the  water.  The  steepness  of  the  rock  was  fully  appre- 
ciated on  their  return,  when  a  basket  of  eggs  was  let  down 
into  the  boat  by  a  rope.  In  passing  up  and  down  they 
sometimes  walked  on  a  narrow  shelf  of  rock  ;  and  when  this 
ceased,  the  "  highway  "  was  continued  by  having  holes  cut 
in  the  perpendicular  face  of  the  cliff,  once  in  two  or  three 
feet,  for  the  fingers  and  toes.  Along  this  frightful  precipice, 
a  drunken  native  passed  in  safety  with  a  sack  of  barley  on 
his  back. 

One  of  the  great  natural  curiosities  of  the  islands,  is  the 
Vogelberg ;  a  terrible  chasm,  of  an  elliptical  form,  almost 
entirely  surrounded  by  rocks,  at  least  a  thousand  feet  in 
height.  The  entrance  is  by  a  narrow  passage  at  one  end; 
and  here,  in  this  remarkable  house,  with  the  sea  for  a  floor 
and  the  sky  for  a  roof,  are  thousands  of  birds.  Sheltered 
from  every  wind,  the  boat  glides  along  with  perfect  safety. 
Gulls  and  guillemots  swim  by  without  fear ;  the  seal  looks 
from  his  watery  cave  in  fancied  security  ;  and  the  lazy  cor- 
morant stretches  out  his  neck  to  scan  the  appearance  of  the 
newly-arrived  visitors.  Long  lines  of  kittiwakes  show  their 
white  breasts  and  dove-like  eyes ;  from  narrow  shelves  of 
the  rock,  nest  succeeds  nest,  and  the  downy  young  appear 
in  frightful  proximity  to  the  edge  of  the  precipice  beneath. 
The  puffins  take  the  highest  stations,  perhaps  because  they 
are  puffed  up  with  ideas  of  their  own. importance,  being 
favorites  of  man,  and  often  captured  for  their  flesh  and 


238  RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND. 

feathers.  In  sheltered  and  dark  places,  will  be  found  the 
rock-dove;  and  dashing  past  like  a  pirate,  is  seen  the  skua, 
pursuing  the  gull  or  the  puffin,  and  striving  for  a  dinner  he 
has  never  earned.  Graba  visited  this  singular  place  in  a 
boat,  accompanied  by  several  natives.  He  describes  the 
noise  made  by  the  innumerable  sea-fowl,  as  almost  deaf- 
ening. Seeing  a  rare  bird  that  he  was  desirous  of  obtaining 
a  specimen  of,  he  raised  his  gun  and  fired.  "  What  became 
of  it,"  says  he,  "  I  know  not.  The  air  was  darkened  by  the 
birds  roused  from  their  repose.  Thousands  hastened  out  of 
the  chasm  with  a  frightful  noise,  and  spread  themselves  in 
troops  over  the  ocean.  The  puffins  came  wondering  from 
their  holes,  and  regarded  the  universal  confusion  with 
comic  gestures ;  the  kittiwakes  remained  composedly  in 
their  nests  ;  while  the  cormorants  tumbled  headlong  into  the 
sea."  That  was,  undoubtedly,  the  first  gun  that  was  ever 
fired  there  since  the  creation  of  the  world.  In  a  little  time, 
the  confusion  and  smoke  passed  away,  and  every  thing 
resumed  its  wonted  appearance. 

Suderoe,  the  most  southern  of  the  islands,  as  indicated 
by  its  name,  is  of  very  irregular  shape,  contains  about  forty- 
four  square  miles,  and  differs  materially  from  the  most 
northern  of  the  group.  This  island  produces  more  and 
better  grain,  is  better  cultivated,  and  has  some  valuable 
beds  of  coal.  Several  kinds  of  land  birds,  the  lark,  the  rail, 
and  the  swallow,  are  found  in  Suderoe,  and  not  in  the 
islands  farther  north.  The  natives  of  Suderoe  are  said  to  be 
more  industrious  and  ingenious,  and  to  speak  a  language 
differing   considerably   from   the   inhabitants  of  the   other 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND,  239 

islands.  Their  principal  town,  Qualhoe,  is  the  finest  and 
best-built  village  in  Faroe. 

The  climate  of  Faroe  is  much  more  genial  and  mild 
than  would  be  supposed  from  its  latitude,  and  far  less  severe 
in  winter  than  many  places  in  a  more  southern  latitude  on 
the  continent  of  Europe.  The  curlew  and  some  other  birds 
winter  here,  while  they  are  not  found  on  the  continent, 
at  this  season,  as  far  north  as  Hamburg.  The  ground 
is  seldom  frozen  for  a  month,  and  snow  never  falls  deep,  or 
lasts  over  a  week  at  a  time.  The  summer,  neither  here  or 
in  Iceland,  is  hot,  though  there  are  some  warm  days  in  July 
and  August.  While  grain  is  never  grown  in  Iceland,  here 
they  cultivate  barley  and  oats,  at  a  height  of  from  two  to  six 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Grass  grows  at  an 
elevation  of  two  thousand  feet,  but  a  little  above  that  vegeta- 
tion ceases,  and  the  land  is  a  desert.  Sometimes  a  violent 
wind  occurs,  that  will  roll  up  the  grassy  turf  like  a  side 
of  sole  leather ;  and  in  this  way  the  tops  of  some  hills  get 
entirely  denuded,  the  turf  being  carried  into  the  sea.  Trees 
do  not  grow  here ;  these  islands  resembling,  in  that  respect, 
Iceland,  and  the  groups  of  Shetland  and  Orkney.  Thunder 
here,  as  in  Iceland,  is  heard  in  winter,  but  seldom  in  sum- 
mer. There  are  a  few  lakes  in  the  islands  ;  Leinumvatn,  in 
Stromoe,  being  one  of  the  largest.  It  is  in  a  somber, 
melancholy-looking  valley,  and  resembles  some  of  the  small 
lakes  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  As  in  all  mountainous 
and  peat  districts,  there  are  plenty  of  springs  of  fresh  water. 

The  spoken  language  of  the  Faroese  resembles  that  of 
the  Icelanders,  but  the  people  have  not  the  same  literary 


240  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

taste  and  love  of  history.  Their  written  language  is  the 
Danish.  Originally  settled  from  Norway  by  piratical 
cruisers,  and  about  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Iceland, 
the  history  of  the  islands  has  much  in  common  with  the 
more  northern  Jand.  They  paid  tribute,  or  were  expected 
to,  to  the  reigning  chief  in  Norway ;  but  the  latter  was  very 
unfortunate  in  his  collection  of  it.  The  deputy  or  collector 
sent  out  for  this  purpose  seldom  returned,  and  was  rarely  or 
never  seen  in  Norway  again.  Some,  attracted  by  the  inde- 
pendent bearing  of  the  people,  took  wives  from  among  the 
fair  Faroese,  and  settled  permanently ;  thus  paying  a  very 
direct  and  unmistakable  compliment  to  a  brave,  inde- 
pendent, and  republican  people.  Others  declared  them- 
selves firm  and  incorruptible,  and  determined  to  execute 
their  trust.  Marriage  is  a  most  excellent  institution ;  and 
all  the  Norwegian  collectors  who  took  brides  from  among 
the  Faroe  maidens,  found  it,  no  doubt,  particularly  to  their 
own  advantage,  and,  at  the  same  time,  in  accordance  with 
the  good  wishes  and  prosperity  of  the  islanders  themselves. 
Those  who  would  not  accept  wives  on  such  fair  terms,  were 
never  heard  of  again.  Their  bones  were  buried  at  low 
tide !  The  king  of  Norway  kept  sending  his  deputies  to 
Faroe,  and  they  and  their  ships  disappeared  one  after 
another,  till  finally  none  of  his  majesty's  subjects  would 
undertake  the  voyage.  At  last,  Karl  Maere,  a  celebrated 
pirate,  offered  his  services;  left  Norway,  and  arrived  at 
Thorshaven  safely.  He  commenced  collecting  the  tribute, 
and  succeeded  until  he  was  himself  compelled  to  pay  a 
capitation  tax.     He  was  decapitated,  and  his  companions 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  241 

returned  without  the  money.  Had  the  "wanderer"  in 
Iceland  been  favored  with  the  office  of  collector,  he  might 
perhaps  have  visited  Faroe ;  and,  in  that  case,  he  probably 
would    not    much   longer   have   continued   a   wandering 

BACHELOR. 


CHAPTEK    XXIII. 

"Good  workmen  never  quarrel  with  their  tools  ; 
I've  got  new  mythological  machinery, 
And  very  handsome  supernatural  scenery." 

The  mythology  of  the  Northmen  is  so  intimately  con- 
nected with  their  literature,  that  any  notice  of  the  one 
would  be  incomplete  without  some  reference  to  the  other. 
The  whole  system  is  as  complicated  and  ingenious,  and 
quite  as  interesting,  as  the  mythology  of  the  Greeks  and 
Romans.  At  the  dawning  of  time,  according  to  the  Scan- 
dinavian theory,  there  were  two  primitive  worlds, — Mus- 
pell, or  Muspelheim,  and  Niflheim.  Muspell  was  located 
in  the  south,  or  above;  and  Niflheim,  below,  or  in  the 
north.  Muspell  is  the  world  of  light  and  fire.  On  its 
border,  guarding  it,  sits  Surtur,  the  god  of  the  flaming 
sword,  and  chief  of  the  chaotic  demons.  At  the  period  of 
Ragnarok,  or  end  of  time,  Surtur  comes  forth  with  his 
flaming  falchion,  enters  the  last  great  battle,  vanquishes  all 
the  gods,  and  consumes  the  universe  with  fire.*      Niflheim, 

*  Surtur,  as  interpreted  to  me  by  an  intelligent  Icelander, 
corresponds  pretty  nearly  to  the  evil  one,  the  arch-fiend,  and 
great  enemy  of  mankind.  The  gods,  or  ^Esir,  protect  and  defend 
man ;  Surtur  is  the  enemy  of  them  all.  The  bituminous  mineral 
or  mineralized  wood  found  in  Iceland,  is  very  inflammable,  and 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  243 

or  the  world  below,  is  the  region  of  cold  and  darkness ;  and 
in  the  middle  of  it  is  the  fountain  Hvergelmir,  from  which 
flow  twelve  rivers.*  Between  Muspell,  above,  and  Niflheim, 
below,  was  a  wide  chaotic  space,  known  as  Ginnungagap. 
In  this  space,  as  will  be  seen,  the  earth  was  formed  and 
peopled.  The  part  of  Ginnungagap  towards  the  north,  was 
filled  with  vast  piles  of  congealed  vapor  from  the  rivers  of 
Niflheim.  The  part  towards  the  south  was  full  of  sparks 
from  Muspell.f  When  the  congealed  vapor  was  met  by  the 
heat  and  sparks,  it  melted  into  drops  ;  and,  "  by  the  might 
of  him  who  sent  the  heat,"  the  drops  quickened  into  life, 
and  put  on  human  forin.J  This  being,  so  made,  was  called 
Ymir ;  and  from  him  the  Frost-giants  are  descended. 
There  was  also  formed  from  the  drops  of  vapor,  a  cow  named 
Audhumla,  and  on  the  milk  of  this  cow  Ymir  sul>sisted. 
From  the  stones  that  the  cow  licked,  there  sprang  a  man 
who  was  endowed  with  agility,  power,  and  beauty.  This 
man  was  called  Bur,  and  he  had  a  son  named  Bor,  who 
took  for  his  wife  Besla,  the  daughter  of  the  giant  Bolthom. 

known  as  Surturbrand,  or  the  devil's  fire.  The  cave  of  Surt- 
shellir,  mentioned  on  page  109,  is  an  illustration  of  the  character 
of  Surtur ;  and  from  this  cave,  many  of  the  Icelanders  to  this  day 
believe  that  Surtur  will  one  day  emerge,  to  destroy  the  world. 

*  The  names  of  these  rivers  are,  Svaul,  Gunn)>ra,  Fiorm,  Finibul, 
Juilr,  SliS,  Hrifc,  Sylgr,  Ylgr,  Vifc,  Leiptur,  and  Gioll. 

f  These,  after  the  earth  was  made,  became  the  stars  that  filled 
the  heavens. 

\  The  ingenuity  of  the  heathen  could  not  imagine  a  world 
created  without  the  power  of  a  deity. 


244  11AM13LES    IN    ICELAND. 

Bor  had  three  sous,  Odin,*  Vili,  and  Ye  ;  though  the  two 
latter  are  usually  considered  as  attributes  of  Odin  himself. 
The  sons  of  Bor  slew  the  giant  Ymir  ;  and  so  much  blood 
flowed  from  his  body,  that  all  the  race  of  Frost-giants  were 
drowned  in  it,  except  one — Bergelmir — who,  with  his  wife, 
escaped  on  board  of  his  bark.  From  these  two  all  the 
Frost-giants,  or  race  of  Jotuns,  are  descended.f 

The  sons  of  Bor  dragged  the  body  of  Ymir  into  the 
middle  of  Ginnungagap,  and  from  it  formed  the  earth. 
From  his  blood  they  made  the  ocean,  which  encompassed 
the  earth  on  every  side,  like  a  broad  ring.  Out  of  his  flesh 
they  made  the  land,  and  from  his  bones  the  mountains ; 
from  his  hair  they  formed  the  trees,  and  with  his  teeth  and 
jaws,  and  some  pieces  of  broken  bones,  they  made  stones 
and  pebbles.  Of  his  skull  they  formed  the  arched  heavens, 
which  they  raised  over  the  earth ;  and  in  the  four  quarters 
of  the  heavens,  like  four  sentries  on  the  watch,  they  placed 
four  dwarfs, — East,  West,  North,  and  South  J — and  there 
they  keep  their  places,  and  bear  up  the  sky.  The  brains  of 
Ymir  they  threw  in  the  air,  and  of  these  the  clouds  were 
formed.  The  earth,  or  Midgard,§  was  represented  as  level 
and  circular,  and  midway  between  Muspell,  above,  and 
JSTiflheim,  below.  Around  the  outer  edge,  next  to  the  ocean, 
the  sons  of  Bor  raised  a  bulwark  of  Ymir's  eyebrows,  as  a 

*  Ofcinn. 

f  This  seems  like  a  heathen  version  of  the  history  of  Noah  and 
the  great  flood. 

\  Austri,  Vestri,  Norfcri,  and  Sufcri. 
§  MiiSgarfc. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  245 

protection  against  the  Jotuns.  Outside  of  Midgard,  flows 
the  great  ocean ;  and  beyond  this,  in  another  circle,  is 
Jotunheim,*  the  land  of  the  Jotuns,  a  rough  mountain 
waste. 

One  of  the  most  intricate  and  sublime  conceptions, 
is  the  myth  of  the  ash  Yggdrasill.  This  tree  is  typical  of 
nature,  and  intimately  connected  with  and  partly  supporting 
the  earth.  The  branches  of  this  tree  extend  over  the  whole 
world,  and  reach  above  heaven.  It  has  three  roots,  which 
are  very  wide  asunder.  One  springs  from  the  region  of  the 
Frost-giants,  in  Jotunheim  ;  the  second,  from  Niflheim  ;  and 
the  third  is  in  heaven.  The  second  root,  in  Niflheim, 
is  gnawed  by  the  great  dragon  Nidhogg ;  and  under  it  is 
the  fountain  Hvergelmir,  whence  flow  the  twelve  great 
rivers.  Under  the  root  of  the  ash  that  is  in  heaven,  is  the 
holy  Urdar-fount,  where  the  gods  sit  in  judgment.  Under 
the  root  in  Jotunheim  is  Mimir's  well,  and  in  this  well 
wisdom  lies  concealed.  All  who  desire  wisdom  or  knowl- 
edge, must  drink  of  the  water  of  this  well.  The  Jotuns  are 
represented  as  older  than  the  gods,  and  in  consequence  they 
look  deeper  into  the  past.  For  this  reason,  the  gods  must 
go  to  the  Jotuns  for  knowledge.  Odin  came  to  Mimir  one 
day,  and  asked  for  a  draught  of  water  from  the  well ;  but 
Mimir  would  not  furnish  it,  till  he  left  one  of  his  eyes 
in  pledge.  In  the  branches  of  the  ash  sits  an  eagle  that 
knows  many  things;  and  the  squirrel  Ratatosk  runs  up  and 
down  the  tree,  bearing  words  of  strife  between  the  eagle  and 

*  Yo-tun-hime,  or  giant's  home. 


246  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

the  dragon  Niddhogg  at  the  root.  Four  harts  run  over  the 
branches  of  the  tree,  and  bite  off  the  buds. 

From  earth  to  heaven  is  a  bridge  called  Bifrost,  or  the 
rainbow.  Over  this  bridge  the  gods  ride  on  horseback, 
every  day,  going  to  and  from  their  judgment-seat  in  heaven. 
Their  horses  all  have  names.  The  most  celebrated  is 
Sleipnir,  the  horse  of  Odin.  He  is  a  beautiful  gray  color, 
has  eight  legs,  and  excells  all  horses  ever  possessed  by  gods 
or  men.  This  famous  steed,  as  will  be  seen  hereafter,  when 
ridden  by  Hermod  the  Nimble,  once  sprang  over  the  gates 
of  Hel. 

The  gods,  or  race  of  iEsiR,  live  in  Asgard,  a  city  in 
heaven,  in  the  center  of  the  universe.  Odin,  the  first  and 
eldest  of  the  ^Esir,  is  at  the  head,  governs  all  things,  and  all 
the  other  deities  obey  him,  as  children  do  a  father.  He  is 
the  highest,  the  supreme  deity,  and  is  supposed  to  be  the 
progenitor  of  all  the  other  gods  ;  and,  on  this  account,  is 
called  All-father.*  Seated  on  his  throne  Hlidskjalf,  he 
sees  throughout  the  world,  and  comprehends  all  things. 
His  mansion,  called  Valaskjalf,  was  built  by  the  gods,  and 
has  a  roof  of  pure  silver.  Odin  is  represented  seated  on  his 
throne,  with  a  spear  in  his  right  hand,  and  on  each  side  his 
two  wolves,  Geri  and  Freki.  On  his  shoulders  are  his  two 
ravens,  who  fly  abroad  throughout  the  earth  during  the  day, 
and  return  at  night,  and  give  him  tidings  of  all  that  is 
going  on.  They  are  named  Hugin  and  Munin,  or  Thought 
and  Memory  ;  and  nothing  transpires  but  what  is  caught  up 

*  AlfaSir. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  247 

by  them,  and  whispered  in  the  ear  of  Odin.  All  the  meat 
that  is  set  before  him,  he  gives  to  his  wolves,  for  wine  to 
him  is  both  meat  and  drink.     As  related  in  the  Edda  :* 

Geri  and  Freki 
Feedeth  the  war-faring, 
Famed  father  of  hosts ; 
For  'tis  with  wine  only 
That  Odin,  in  arms  renowned, 
Is  nourished  for  aye. 

The  wife  of  Odin  is  Friga  the  daughter  of  Fjorgyn ; 
and  from  these  two  are  descended  the  race  of  the  iEsir. 
Friga  foresees  the  destinies  of  men,  but  never  reveals  what  is 
to  come.f 

Thor,J  the  son,  the  first-born  of  Odin  and  Friga,  is  "  the 
mightiest  of  gods  and  men."  He  is  the  god  of  thunder,  is 
armed  with  a  mallet  called  Mjolnir,  has  a  belt  of  strength 
or  prowess,  and  wears  iron  gauntlets.  His  favorite  employ- 
ment is  fighting  the  Jotuns,  with  whom  he  is  at  perpetual 
war.  With  his  gauntlets  on  his  hands — without  which  he 
cannot  grasp  his  weapon — he  hurls  at  them  his  terrible 
mallet,  and  crushes  in  their  skulls.  He  is  favorable  to  the 
race  of  men,  and  keeps  watch  in  Midgard — the  home  of 
man,  or  Manheim — and  defends  them  from  the  giants  of 

*  The  Grimnis-mal. 

f  A  very  rare  quality  for  a  female,  to  keep  secrets ! 
\  |)or,  supposed  to  be  a  contraction  of  J>onar ;  hence  his  title, 
the  Thunderer. 


248  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

Jotunheim.  He  has  two  sons,  Modi  and  Magni.  Thor  is 
represented  in  a  car  drawn  by  two  goats ;  hence  he  is  called 
Auku-Thor,  or  Charioteer  Thor.*  He  is  attended  by  the 
nimble-footed  boy  Thjalfi,  and  the  girl  Roskva  the  Quick. 

Thor's  home  is  Thrudvang — the  home  of  strength — and 
his  mansion  is  called  Bilskirnir.  This  is  "  the  largest  house 
ever  built,"  and  contains  five  hundred  and  forty  halls. 
Thor's  marvelous  exploits,  his  combats  with  the  enemies  of 
mankind— 1the  Jotuns  and  the  Midgard  serpent — are  favor- 
ite themes  with  all  the  old  Icelandic  writers.  Though  Thor 
is  the  son  of  Odin,  he  is  not  always  considered  as  his  infe- 
rior. Temples  for  the  separate  worship  of  Thor,  and  statues 
dedicated  to  him,  were  erected  in  various  parts  of  Scandi- 
navia. 

The  next  god  in  rank,  is  Baldur,  the  second  son  of 
Odin.f  He  is  represented  as  fair  in  form  and  feature,  as 
universally  beloved,  and  the  mildest,  the  wisest,  and 
most  eloquent  of  all  the  JEsir.  Such  is  his  nature,  that  his 
judgment  once  pronounced,  can  never  be  altered.  His  hair 
is  supremely  fair,  and  in  allusion  to  it,  a  beautiful  plant  that 
is  almost  white — the  Anthemis  Cotula — is  called  Baldur's 
Eyebrow. J  Baldur  dwells  in  the  mansion  called  Breida- 
blik,  one  of  the  fairest  in  heaven.     Nothing  impure  or  un- 

*  It  will  be  observed  that  Odin  and  Thor,  in  their  various 
attributes,  are  represented  much  like  Saturn  and  Jupiter.  Thor's 
youthful  attendants  are  like  the  Hebe  and  Ganymede  of  Jove. 

f  He  is  known  as  Baldur  the  Good ;  and  corresponds  very 
nearly  to  the  Apollo  of  the  ancient  Greeks. 

%  Balldursbra;  and  so  known  in  Sweden  to  this  day. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  249 

clean  can  enter  it.  His  wife  is  Nanna,  the  daughter  of  Nep. 
The  myth  of  Baldur's  death,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  in 
the  Northern  Mythology.  All  the  deities,  as  well  as  men, 
joined  in  his  praise ;  and  at  his  death,  the  whole  universe 
was  in  mourning. 

Forseti,  the  sun  of  Baldur  and  Nanna,  is  the  god  of 
Righteousness,  and  presides  over  Justice.  He  possesses  the 
heavenly  mansion  called  Glitnir,  the  walls,  columns,  and 
beams  of  which  are  of  solid  gold,  and  the  roof  pure  silver. 
He  reconciles  all  disputants  at  law ;  those  bringing  their 
cases  before  him  never  failing  to  find  perfect  satisfaction  in 
his  decisions.* 

Bragi,  the  son  of  Odin,  is  the  god  of  Poetry  :  hence  the 
art  of  poetry  is  called  Bragr.  Bragi  has  a  flowing  beard,f 
and  is  noted  for  his  eloquence,  and  the  correct  use  of  lan- 
guage. His  wife  is  Iduna,  the  goddess  of  Eternal  Youth. 
She  is  entrusted  with  the  keeping  of  the  apples  which  the 
gods,  on  feeling  old,  have  only  to  taste,  to  become  young 
again. 

Mgtr  is  the  deity  of  the  Ocean,  though  a  Jotun,  and 
not  reckoned  with  the  iEsir.     His  wife  is  Ran  ;  and  with  a 

*  In  this  he  certainly  excels  the  lawyers  and  judges  of  the  pres- 
ent day. 

f  There  is  no  account  of  any  of  the  Scandinavian  deities  using 
the  razor ;  not  even  the  weakest  and  simplest  of  them ;  that  folly 
being  specially  reserved  for  men.  Bragi  in  preserving  the  manly 
appendage,  the  beard,  showed  himself  in  this,  as  in  other  things, 
one  of  the  foremost  of  his  race,  and  a  fit  associate  for  superior 
intelligences. 


250  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

net  she  catches  unfortunate  mariners.  -^Egir  entertains  all 
the  JS&\r,  at  a  grand  feast  of  the  gods  given  at  the  autumnal 
equinox. 

Njord,  who  dwells  in  the  heavenly  region  called  Noa- 
tun,  rules  over  the  winds  and  the  waves,  and  checks  the  fury 
of  the  elements,  the  sea,  and  the  fire.  His  aid  is  invoked 
by  fishermen  and  sea-farers.  The  wife  of  Njord  is  Skadi, 
the  daughter  of  a  Jotun.  Njord  and  Skadi  have  two  chil- 
dren ;  Frey,  a  son,  and  a  daughter  named  Freyja.  Frey  is 
one  of  the  most  celebrated  and  beloved  of  all  the  gods. 
He  rides  in  a  car  drawn  by  a  boar,  presides  over  the  rain, 
the  sunshine,  and  the  fruits  of  the  earth.  His  aid  is  invoked 
for  good  harvests,  and  also  for  peace ;  and  he  dispenses 
wealth  to  those  who  do  him  honor.*  Frey  fell  violently  in 
love  with  Gerda,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  all  the  wo- 
men, and  ordered  Skirnir,  his  trusty  messenger,  to  go  and 
ask  her  hand  for  him.  Skirnir  promised  to  do  so  if  Frey 
would  give  him  his  sword,  a  weapon  of  such  a  rare  quality, 
that  it  would  strew  a  field  with  slain,  at  the  bidding  of  its 
owner.  Impatient  for  the  possession  of  Gerda,  he  gave 
Skirnir  the  sword  ;  and  afterwards,  in  a  battle  with  Beli,  he 
slew  him  with  the  antlers  of  a  stag.  In  the  last  great  bat- 
tle, where  all  of  the  gods  are  engaged,  Frey  is  without  a 
weapon.f 

*  A  character  much  like  Ceres. 

f  In  this  myth  we  see  a  quiet  satire  on  those,  who  to  gratify 
some  darling  passion  or  desire,  sacrifice  their  most  valuable  pos- 
sessions. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  251 

Heimdal — called  also  the  White  god — is  a  sacred  and 
powerful  deity,  the  son  of  nine  Jotun  virgins,  who  were  sis- 
ters. He  is  called  Gold-toothed,  his  teeth  being  of  pure 
gold.  He  dwells  in  Himinbjorg,  at  the  end  of  Bifrost,  and 
has  a  famous  horse  named  Gulltopp.  He  is  the  warder  or 
sentry  of  the  gods,  and  therefore  was  placed  on  the  borders 
of  heaven,  to  prevent  the  Jotuns  from  forcing  their  way  over 
the  bridge.  His  ear  is  so  acute,  that  no  sound  escapes 
him  ;  he  can  even  hear  the  grass  grow,  or  the  wool  on  the 
backs  of  sheep.  He  requires  less  sleep  than  a  bird,  sees  a 
hundred  miles  around  him  on  every  side,  and  by  night  as 
well  as  by  day.  In  time  of  danger,  or  \>hen  he  wishes  to 
call  the  gods  together,  he  blows  a  blast  on  his  Gjallar-horn, 
that  sounds  throughout  all  worlds ;  and  the  gods  immediately 
assemble. 

Hodur  is  a  deity  who  is  blind,  but  possesses  great 
strength.  He  is  more  fully  described  in  the  account  of  Bal- 
dur's  death. 

Vidar,  surnamed  the  Silent,  and  noted  for  his  heavy 
shoes,  is  the  son  of  Odin  and  the  Jotun-woman  Grida.  He 
possesses  immense  strength,  being  nearly  as  strong  as  Thor 
himself.  Great  reliance  is  placed  on  him  in  cases  of  emer- 
gency. 

Vali,  the  son  of  Odin  and  Rinda,  is  most  valiant  in 
war ;  and,  in  his  youth,  was  as  precocious  as  the  Mercury  of 
the  ancients.  He  slew  Hodur,  the  murderer  of  Baldur,  be- 
fore he  was  a  day  old. 

Ullur,  the  son  of  Sif,  and  step-son  of  Thor,  has  great 
skill  in  the  use  of  the  bow.     His  name  signifies  the  White, 


252  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

or  the  Wool-like.  He  favors  the  winter,  and  travels  with 
great  speed  on  skates  and  snow  shoes.  He  is  very  hand- 
some, has  every  quality  of  a  warrior,  and  is  often  invoked  by 
those  who  engage  in  single  combat.  Vidar  and  Vali  will 
survive  the  destruction  of  the  world  by  the  fire  of  Surtur, 
and  dwell  on  the  plain  of  Ida,  where  Asgard  formerly  stood. 
Thither  shall  come  to  meet  them,  Modi  and  Magni,  the  sons 
of  Thor,  bringing  with  them  their  father's  mallet. 

Of  the  goddesses,  Friga,  the  wife  of  Odin,  is  the  high- 
est. Her  mansion  is  called  Fensalir.  The  next  in  rank  is 
Saga,  the  goddess  of  History.  Her  house  is  Sokkvabek, 
and  is  of  great  size.  The  goddess  Eir  presides  over  the  art 
of  Healing.*  Gefjon  is  a  maid,  and  all  who  die  maids  go 
to  her,  and  become  her  hand-maidens.  Fulla  is  also  a 
maid.  She  has  beautiful  hair  that  flows  over  her  shoulders, 
and  a  gold  ribbon  adorns  her  head.  She  is  an  attendant 
and  confidant  of  Friga,  and  is  entrusted  with  her  secrets. 
Freyja  is  the  wife  of  Odur  ;  and  they  have  a  daughter, 
Hnossa,  who  is  celebrated  for  her  beauty.  Odur  travels 
through  distant  countries  ;  and,  in  his  absence,  Freyja 
weeps,  and  her  tears  are  pure  gold.  As  she  goes  over  the 
world  in  search  of  her  husband,  the  people  give  her  differ- 
ent names.  She  rides  in  a  chariot  drawn  by  two  cats.  The 
goddess  Lofna  is  mild  in  her  demeanor,  and  takes  delight 
in  smoothing  the  path  of  lovers,  and  promoting  the  success 
and  union  of  those  who  are  sincerely  attached  to  each  other. 
Vora  is  a  goddess  that  punishes  lovers'  false  vows  and  per- 

*  A  sort  of  female  ^Esculapius. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  253 

juries.  Gna  is  the  messenger  of  Friga,  and  is  sent  by  her 
on  various  errands  through  different  worlds.  She  has  a 
horse  called  Hofvarpnir,  that  can  travel  through  water  or  air. 
Besides  these,  there  are  many  other  goddesses  whose  duty  it 
is  to  serve  in  Vallhalla,  wait  on  the  gods,  take  care  of  their 
drinking  horns,  &c.  These  are  called  the  Valkyrjor.* 
Odin  sends  the  Valkyrjor  to  every  battle-field,  to  decide  who 
shall  be  slain,  and  declare  on  which  side  victory  shall  rest. 
They  carry  the  spirits  of  the  slain  to  Odin,  in  Valhalla. 

Among  the  inferior  deities  are  three  maidens  called 
Noras.  Their  names  are  Urd,  Vernandi,  and  Skuld  ;  or,  Past, 
Present,  and  Future.  They  preside  over  the  birth  and  desti- 
nies of  men,  and  determine  their  fate  and  length  of  life.  There 
are  also  other  Norns  besides  these  three.  Some  of  them 
are  of  heavenly  origin,  and  dispense  good  destinies.  Others 
are  of  the  races  of  elves,  or  evil  spirits  ;  and  men  who  meet 
with  numerous  misfortunes  are  said  to  be  under  the  influ- 
ence of  evil  Norns.  There  is  also  a  class  of  inferior  beings 
known  as  Dwarfs.  They  dwell  in  caves  and  caverns  of  the 
earth. 

*  Their  names  are  Geirolul,  Goll,  Herfjotur,  Hildur,  Hlokk, 
Hrist,  Mist,  Radgrid,  Randgrid,  Reginlief,  Skeggold,  Skogul,  and 
|>rudur. 


CHAPTEK    XXIV. 

SCANDINAVIAN  MYTHOLOGY  CONCLUDED. ADVENTURES   OF 

THOR,  AND  THE  DEATH  OF  BALDUR. 

Nearly  all  the  deities  have  been  noticed.  The  origin 
of  night  and  day,  and  the  sun  and  moon  are  thus  given. 
The  giant  Njorvi,  who  dwelt  in  Jotunheim,  had  a  daughter 
called  Night,*  who,  like  all  of  her  race,  was  of  a  dark  and 
swarthy  complexion.  Night  married  a  man  named  Annar, 
and  had  a  daughter  called  Earth .f  She  next  espoused 
Delling,  one  of  the  ^Esir ;  and  their  son  was  Day,J  a  child 
light  and  beauteous  like  its  father.  Odin  then  gave  to 
Night  and  her  son  Day  two  horses  and  two  cars,  and  set 
them  up  in  the  heavens,  to  drive  successively  one  after  the 
other  round  the  world  in  twelve  hours'  time.  Night  goes 
first,  driving  the  horse  Hrimfaxi ;  and  he,  every  morn,  as  he 
ends  his  course,  bedews  the  earth  with  foam  that  falls  from 
his  bit.  Day  follows  with  his  horse  Skinfaxi ;  and  from  his 
mane  light  is  shed  over  the  earth  and  the  heavens.  The 
man  Mundilfari  had  two  children  so  lovely  and  graceful 
that  he  called  the  boy  Mani  (moon),  and  the  girl  Sol  (sun). 
The  gods,  being  angry  at  the  man's  presumption,  placed  his 
children  in  the  heavens.     The  bright  and  illuminated  car  of 

*  Not.  f  Jorfc.  %  Dagr- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  255 

the  sun,  which  the  gods  made  out  of  the  sparks  that  fell 
from  Muspelheim,  to  give  light  to  the  world,  was  drawn  by 
the  horses  Arvak  and  Alsvid,  and  driven  by  Sol.  Mani  was 
set  to  direct  the  moon  in  his  course,  and  guide  his  increasing 
and  waning  aspect.  Two  wolves,  Skoll  and  Hati,  are  con- 
stantly in  pursuit  of  the  sun  and  moon ;  and  it  is  on  this 
account  that  they  fly  so  swiftly  through  the  heavens.  One 
day  these  wolves  will  overtake  and  devour  them. 

One  of  the  gods  is  named  Loki  ;  and  to  him  is  ascribed 
nearly  all  the  evil  that  is  suffered  in  the  world.  He  was  the 
calumniator  of  the  iEsir,  the  contriver  of  frauds  and  mis- 
chief, and  the  disgrace  of  both  gods  and  men.  He  had  a 
terrible  offspring  by  Angurbodi,  a  giantess  of  Jotunheim. 
These  were,  the  wolf  Fenrir,  the  Midgard  serpent,  and  Hela, 
or  Death.  The  wolf  Fenrir  could  only  be  fed  by  Tyr,  the 
god  of  Bravery,  who,  as  will  be  seen,  was  called  the  one- 
handed.  Tyr  is  the  most  daring  and  intrepid  of  the  gods. 
He  dispenses  valor  in  battle,  and  his  aid  is  invoked  by  war- 
riors. The  gods  were  warned  by  the  oracles,  that  the 
power  of  the  wolf  was  becoming  dangerous  ;  and  Tyr  at- 
tempted to  make  a  fetter  to  bind  him.  The  first  trial  failed, 
the  wolf  snapping  the  cords  asunder  as  if  they  had  been 
threads.  Tyr  next  made  the  fetter  called  Gleipnir,  fashion- 
ing it  out  of  six  things;  namely,  the  noise  made  out  of  the 
foot-fall  of  a  cat,  the  beards  of  women,  the  roots  of  stones, 
the  sinews  of  bears,  the  breath  of  fish,  and  the  spittle  of  birds. 
Though  this  cord  was  as  fine  and  soft  as  silk,  the  wolf  would 
not  consent  to  be  bound  with  it,  unless  Tyr  would  let 
him  take  one  of  his  hands  in  his  mouth.  To  this  he  con- 
sented ;  and  the  gods  then  bound  the  wolf;  and, finding  be 


256  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

could  not  free  himself  by  breaking  the  fetter,  he  revenged 
himself  by  biting  off  the  right  hand  of  Tyr.  When  the  off- 
spring of  Loki  were  born,  Odin  sent  for  them ;  and  after 
having  the  wolf  put  in  fetters,  threw  the  Midgard  serpent 
into  the  ocean  that  surrounded  the  earth.  Here  the  mon- 
ster grew  to  such  size  that  he  encircled  the  whole  earth, 
with  his  tail  in  his  mouth.  Hela  (Death)  was  cast  by  Odin 
into  Niflheim  ;  and  her  abode  is  known  as  Helheim,  or  Hel. 
Her  habitation  is  surrounded  by  exceedingly  high  walls,  and 
strongly-barred  gates.  Her  hall  is  called  Elvidmir;  Hun- 
ger is  her  table ;  Starvation,  her  knife ;  Delay,  her  man ; 
Slowness,  her  maid ;  Precipice,  her  threshold  ;  Care,  her 
bed  ;  and  Burning  Anguish  forms  the  hanging  of  her  apart- 
ments. 

The  spirits  of  those  who  fell  in  battle,  were  carried  at 
once  to  Odin,  in  Valhalla — the  hall  of  the  slain  ;  and  on 
this  account  Odin  is  called  Val-father,  or  father  of  the  slain. 
Those  who  die  a  natural  death,  or  of  old  age,  were  taken  to 
Hel.  These  abodes,  however,  were  not  of  eternal  duration, 
but  only  continued  until  Ragnarok — the  final  judgment  and 
destruction  of  the  earth  and  all  material  things.  Valhalla 
is  not  represented  as  a  place  of  unalloyed  happiness,  nor 
Hel  of  continued  misery ;  yet  the  former  was  far  the  most 
desirable  abode.  The  joys  of  Valhalla  are  imagined  and 
pictured  on  the  basis  of  all  our  ideas  of  happiness  in  another 
world — the  highest  degree  of  felicity  known  in  this.* 

*  The  learned  and  enlightened  Christian  imagines  Heaven  as  a 
place  or  state  of  being,  where  evil,  sin,  and  pain  are  unknown  ;  and 


RAMBLES   IN    ICELAND.  257 

The  joys  and  employments  in  Valhalla,  will  consist  of 
eating,  drinking,  and  fighting.  The  spirits  of  the  slain  will 
roam  through  the  vast  hall,  and  eat  and  drink  with  the 
JEsir.  The  whole  celestial  banquet  will  consist  of  ale,  and 
the  flesh  of  one  wild  boar,  which,  being  cut  off  every  day, 
renews  itself  every  night.  The  goddesses,  or  women,  wait 
at  table,  and  fill  the  drinking  horns.  When  the  morning 
repast  is  over,  they  all  ride  out  into  the  plain,  and  fight,  and 
cut  one  another  to  pieces.  They  are,  however,  perpetually 
renewed  ;  and,  towards  evening,  all  resume  their  usual  form, 
and  return  to  drink  ale  together.  Valhalla  was  of  immense 
size,  had  five  hundred  and  forty  doors,   and  was   spacious 

where  the  celestial  employments  will  consist  of  investigating  the 
works  of  the  Creator,  and  glorifying  his  name.  The  poor  Indian 
dreams  of  pleasant  huntiDg-grounds — some  happy  island  in  the 
watery  waste — and  thinks, 

"  admitted  to  that  equal  sky, 

His  faithful  dog  shall  bear  him  company." 

An  old  lady  who  had  just  "  experienced  religion,"  was  asked 
what  she  thought  would  be  the  employments  of  the  good  in 
heaven ;  or  how  they  would  pass  their  time.  She  replied,  that 
she  thought  she  would  be  permitted  to  sit  all  day,  in  a  clean,  white 
aproD,  and  sing  psalms.  We  need  not  smile  at  the  simplicity  of 
the  good  old  dame ;  for,  is  it  not  probable  that  the  celestial  labors 
and  enjoyments  will  as  far  exceed  the  ideas  of  the  most  learned 
Christian,  as  his  imagination  goes  beyond  that  of  the  good  woman, 
or  the  rude  joys  of  the  unlettered  savage  ? 
12 


258  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

enough  to  contain  the  iEsir,  ancT  all  the  brave  spirits  that 
Odin  called  to  him  from  earth.  In  all  the  accounts  of  Hel 
and  Valhalla,  to  be  found  in  the  ancient  Eddas,  there  is 
nothing  that  goes  to  prove  that  the  Scandinavians  believed 
in  a  place  of  eternal  punishment.  One  or  two  brief  passa- 
ges from  the  Younger  Edda  are  quoted,  to  show  that  such 
was  the  case ;  but  these  are  proved  to  have  been  interpola- 
tions in  the  manuscript  of  the  Edda,  by  a  modern  christian 
writer. 

An  early  period  is  spoken  of,  called  the  Golden  Age. 
Odin  had  constructed  a  court,  or  hall,  of  great  magnificence. 
It  was  resplendent  on  all  sides,  within  and  without,  with  the 
finest  gold.  He  appointed  rulers  or  judges,  to  judge  with 
him  the  fate  of  men ;  and  in  the  hall  he  had  twelve  seats 
for  them,  besides  his  own  throne.  This  court  of  justice  was 
called  Gladsheim.  Another  edifice,  a  very  fair  structure, 
was  erected  for  the  goddesses.  This  was  called  Vingolf. 
Lastly,  a  smithy  was  built,  and  furnished  with  hammers, 
tongs,  anvils,  and  all  manner  of  tools  for  working  in  wood, 
stone,  and  metal.  All  the  movable  things  belonging  to  the 
gods,  were  made  of  gold ;  and  from  this  the  period  was 
known  as  the  Golden  Age. 

The  age  lasted  until  women  arrived  from  Jotunheim, 
and  corrupted  it. 

The  exploits  of  Thor  form  the  subjects  of  the  most 
lengthy  and  characteristic  legends  in  the  mythology  of  the 
Scandinavians.  At  one  time  iEgir,  the  ocean  deity,  enter- 
tained all  the  gods  in  Asgard,  giving  them  a  great  feast,  at 
the  period  of  the  autumnal  equinox.     He  furnished  enough 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  259 

to  eat,  but  drink  was  greatly  wanting* ;  for  he  had  no  vessel 
large  enough  to  brew  ale  for  such  a  numerous  company. 
Thor  hearing  that  the  giant  Hymir  owned  a  famous  caul- 
dron of  great  size,  he,  in  company  with  Tyr,  set  out  for 
Jotunheim,  to  obtain  it,  determined  either  by  fair  means  or 
foul  to  carry  it  away.  After  various  adventures  he  gets  it, 
claps  it  on  his  head  like  a  huge  hat,  and  walks  off  with  it, 
the  ears  of  the  cauldron  reaching  down  to  his  heels  !  The 
giants  follow  and  attack  him ;  but  he  slays  them  all  with 
his  terrible  mallet.  Having  obtained  the  cauldron,  ^Egir 
brewed  as  much  ale  as  was  required ;  and  Loki,  Thor,  and 
all  the  company,  have  a  regular  drinking  bout.  It  ended 
as  such  scenes  usually  do — in  a  fight ;  and  Loki  killed  one 
of  ^Egir's  servants,  for  which  he  was  expelled  by  the  gods, 
and  kicked  out  of  doors.  He  was  afterwards,  however, 
restored  to  his  place. 

Thor  and  Loki  had  a  famous  journey  to  Jotunheim;  the 
land  of  the  giants.  Thor,  as  usual,  rode  in  his  car  drawn 
by  two  goats;  and  when  night  came  they  put  up  at  the 
cottage  of  a  peasant,  both  the  travelers  assuming  the  form 
and  costume  of  men.  Thor  killed  his  goats,  and  after  flay- 
ing them,  put  them  in  a  kettle  to  cook  for  their  supper,  and 
asked  the  peasant  and  his  family  to  partake  with  him. 
The  peasant's  son  was  named  Thjalfi,  and  the  daughter 
Roskva.  Thor  told  them  to  throw  all  the  bones  into  the 
goats'  skins,  which  were  spread  out  on  the  floor ;  but  Thjalfi 
broke  one  of  the  bones  to  get  at  the  marrow.  The  next 
morning,  Thor  raised  his  mallet,  consecrated  the  goats'  skins, 
and  they  instantly  assumed  their  usual  form,  alive  and  well 
and  ready  to  pursue  the  journey ;  but  one  of  the  goats  was 


260  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

found  to  be  lame  in  one  leg.  To  appease  the  anger  of 
Thor,  the  peasant  offered  any  thing  he  possessed  as  a  com- 
pensation. Thor  chose  both  his  children ;  and  ever  after 
Thjalfi  the  Nimble  and  Roskva  the  Quick  were  his  attend- 
ants. They  then  continued  their  journey,  passed  out  of 
Mannheim,  crossed  a  broad  ocean,  and  entered  a  deep  forest. 
They  saw  a  large  hall,  and,  entering  it,  went  to  sleep  in  a 
deep  room  at  one  end.  During  the  night,  there  was  an 
earthquake  and  a  terrible  roaring,  which  shook  the  whole 
edifice.  In  the  morning  they  found  a  giant  of  enormous 
size,  sleeping  and  snoring  near  them;  and  the  vast  edifice 
was  his  glove  which  he  had  thrown  off,  and  they  had  slept 
in  the.  thumb  of  it.  The  giant's  name  was  Skrymir,  and 
when  he  awoke  he  knew  Thor  at  once  and  called  him  by 
name.  He  offered  to  carry  the  wallet  of  provisions  and 
relieve  Thjalfi,  and  after  breakfast  they  journeyed  together. 
Thor,  wishing  to  get  rid  of  his  new  fellow-traveler,  when 
night  arrived,  hurled  his  mallet  at  him  after  he  was  asleep ; 
and  it  was  buried  deep  in  his  skull.  Waking  up,  the  giant 
asked  if  a  leaf  had  fallen  on  his  head.  He  slept  again,  and 
Thor  made  two  more  efforts — once  his  mallet  going  deep 
into  his  cheek ;  and  again,  burying  it  in  his  head  up  to  the 
handle.  The  giant  merely  put  up  his  hand  and  asked  if  a 
bit  of  moss  or  an  acorn  had  fallen  on  him.  He  soon,  how- 
ever, left,  Thor,  and  pursued  his  journey  to  the  north.  The 
travelers  arrived  at  the  city  of  Utgard,  situated  in  a  vast 
plain,  and  immediately  paid  their  respects  to  Utgard-Loki, 
the  king.  His  majesty  looked  at  the  Thunderer  with  great 
contempt,  called  him  a  stripling,  and  said  if  he  was  not  mis- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  261 

taken  it  must  be  Aku-Thor.  The  kino;  challenged  Thor 
and  his  companions  to  try  various  feats  of  skill  and  strength 
with  his  subjects,  the  giants  of  Jotunheim.  Loki  sat  down 
to  a  trough  filled  with  meat,  and  eat  a  race  with  a  giant ; 
but  he  got  vanquished,  his  competitor  eating  the  most,  and 
swallowing  bones  and  all.  Thor  then  produced  Thjalfi  to 
run  a  race,  and  he  was  completely  distanced.  Thor  him- 
self then  attempted  a  drinking  bout  with  the  giants ;  but 
at  three  long  pulls  he  could  not  empty  a  single  horn.  He 
then  tried  his  hand  at  lifting ;  but  though  the  giants  only 
furnished  a  common  gray  cat  to  be  lifted,  Thor  could  not 
raise  him  from  the  ground,  only  lifting  one  foot  a  short  dis- 
tance. Then  he  tried  wrestling;  but  though  his  competitor 
was  a  wrinkled  old  woman,  he  could  not  throw  her,  but 
came  near  being  thrown  himself.  Thor  confessed  that  he 
was  vanquished,  and  turned  his  steps  away,  being  accompa- 
nied without  the  walls  of  the  city  by  his  majesty  Utgard- 
Loki,  in  person.  Then  the  king  tells  Thor  that,  if  he  has 
his  way,  the  god  shall  never  come  into  his  place  again,  for 
he  fears  him  and  only  got  the  better  of  him  that  time  by 
stratagem.  He  said  it  was  he  that  met  him  in  the  forest, 
and  he  had  a  mountain  before  him  when  he  slept ;  and  if 
Thor  would  see  it  on  his  return,  he  would  observe  two  deep 
vallies  where  he  buried  his  mallet,  while  he  thought  he 
struck  Utgard  himself.  The  two  immense  glens  that  could 
be  seen  in  the  mountain  were  but  the  ^ints  of  Trior's  mallet. 
In  the  contest  of  eating,  the  competitor  of  Loki  was  Fire  itself, 
that  consumed  all  before  it.  Thjalfi  ran  a  race  with  Hugi 
— Thought — which  flies  faster  than  the  fleetest  being  that 


262  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

• 

is  created.  The  old  woman  who  wrestled  with  Thor  was 
Old  Age,  which  could  in  time  lay  every  thing  low.  What 
appeared  to  be  a  cat,  was  the  great  Midgard  serpent,  that 
encompassed  the  whole  earth.  The  horn  he  drank  from 
extended  to  the  sea  itself ;  and  in  this  he  performed  a  most 
prodigious  feat,  for  he  settled  it  greatly,  as  could  be  seen, 
and  which  was  called  the  ebb.  Thor,  on  hearing  how  he 
had  been  vanquished  by  stratagem,  raised  his  mallet  to 
strike  down  the  giant ;  but  on  turning,  he  had  disappeared, 
and,  instead  of  a  city  near  by,  he  saw  nothing  but  a  vast 
plain.  This  was  the  end  of  Thor's  adventures  in  Jotun- 
heim.  Then  to  reestablish  his  reputation,  Thor  went  out 
to  fish  for  the  great  Midgard  serpent.  He  took  no  compa- 
nions, not  even  his  car  or  goats.  He  traveled  in  the  guise 
of  a  young  man,  and  put  up  at  the  house  of  a  giant 
named  Hymir,  who  was  going  fishing ;  and  he  asked  Thor 
to  provide  some  bait.  He  went  into  a  herd  of  the  giant's 
oxen,  and  seizing  the  largest  bull,  wrung  off"  his  head  ;  and 
returning  with  it,  the  two  put  off  to  sea  together.  They 
rowed  much  further  than  the  giant  had  ever  gone  before  ; 
and  Thor,  baiting  a  hook  and  line  of  great  strength  with  the 
head  of  the  bull,  cast  it  out.  The  Midgard  serpent  imme- 
diately swallowed  it,  and  Thor  drew  upon  him.  The  scene 
was  now  most  dreadful.  Thor  pulled  so  hard  that  his  feet 
broke  through  the  boat,  and  went  down  to  the  bottom  of 
the  sea.  Thor  darte<?  looks  of  ire  at  the  serpent,  and  he  in 
turn  spouted  floods  of  venom  upon  him.  The  giant  turned 
pale  with  fright,  took  out  his  knife  and  cut  the  line,  when 
the  serpent  sunk  under  water.     Thor  then  grasped  his  mal- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  263 

let  and  hurled  it  at  the  monster ;  but  he  was  low  down  in 
the  sea,  and  escaped,  though  some  say  his  head  was  struck 
off  at  the  bottom  of  the  ocean.  Thor  then,  with  his  fist, 
hit  the  giant  a  blow  under  the  ear  that  knocked  him  out  of 
sight ;  and  then,  with  rapid  strides,  he  waded  ashore. 

Baldur  the  Good  having  dreamed  that  harm  was  to 
come  to  him,  Friga,  his  mother,  hearing  of  it,  exacted  an 
oath  from  every  thing,  animate  and  inanimate,  stones,  trees, 
fire,  metals,  and  all  living  things,  that  they  would  not  hurt 
Baldur.  One  thing  only  was  omitted — the  misletoe.  It  was 
then  a  favorite  amusement  for  Baldur  to  stand  up,  and 
have  the  JEsir  throw  at  him  their  darts,  javelins,  battle-axes, 
and  other  missiles  ;  for  none  could  harm  him.  Loki,  under 
the  guise  of  an  old  woman,  hearing  that  the  misletoe  had 
not  taken  the  oath,  gathered  a  branch,  and  calling  Hodur, 
the  blind  god,  told  him  to  hurl  it  at  Baldur,  saying  he 
would  guide  his  arm,  and  it  being  only  a  twig,  it  could  not 
hurt  him.  Hodur  threw  it,  under  the  guidance  of  Loki ; 
and  Baldur  the  Good  was  slain.  The  gods  were  speechless 
with  horror,  looked  at  each  other,  and  broke  out  into  violent 
lamentations  of  grief.  Odin  was  most  sensible  of  the  great 
loss  the  ^Esir  had  suffered  ;  and  Friga  asked  who  would 
gain  her  love  and  good  will  by  riding  to  Hel,  and  trying  to 
find  Baldur,  and  offer  to  Hela  a  ransom  for  his  return  to 
Asgard.  Hermod  offered  his  services,  and  left,  mounted  on 
Odin's  famous  horse,  Sleipnir.  While  Hermod  was  on  this 
mission,  Baldur's  body  was  borne  to  the  sea  shore  to  be 
burnt.  His  ship  Hringhorn,  the  largest  in  the  world,  was 
required  for  a  funeral  pile  ;  but  no  one  could  move  it,  till 


264  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

they  sent  to  Jotunheim  for  a  famous  giantess  named 
Hyrrokin.  She  came  mounted  on  a  wolf,  with  twisted 
serpents  for  a  bridle,  and  with  one  push  moved  the  vessel  as 
they  wanted  it.  Baldur's  body  was  borne  to  the  funeral 
pile  on  board  the  ship;  and  the  ceremony  had  such  an 
effect  on  Nanna,  that  she  died  of  grief,  and  her  body  was 
burned  on  the  same  pile  with  her  husband's.  Thor 
hallowed  the  pile  with  his  mallet,  and  during  the  ceremony 
kicked  a  dwarf  into  the  fire,  because  he  ran  before  him. 
At  Baldur's  obsequies  was  a  vast  concourse.  First,  there 
was  Odin,  with  Friga,  the  valkyrjor,  and  his  ravens ;  then 
Frey,  in  his  car  drawn  by  the  boar  with  golden  bristles. 
Heimdall  rode  his  horse,  Gulltopp  ;  Freyja  drove  in  her 
chariot  drawn  by  cats.  There  were  also  present  many 
Frost-giants  and  giants  of  the  mountains.  Baldur's  horse, 
fully  caparisoned,  was  burned  along  with  the  body  of  his 
master. 

Hermod  pursued  his  journey  till  he  arrived  at  the  gates 
of  Hel,  and  found  them  barred.  He  alighted,  tightened  the 
girths,  mounted,  put  spurs  to  the  horse,  and  at  one  leap 
sprang  over  the  gate  without  touching.  He  found  Baldur 
occupying  the  most  distinguished  seat  in  the  hall ;  and  after 
spending  a  night  with  him,  asked  Hela  (death)  to  let 
Baldur  return  to  Asgard.  She  said  she  would  consent 
to  it,  provided  Baldur  was  so  beloved  that  every  thing 
would  weep  for  him.  Hermod  then  returned,  bearing  a 
gold  ring  as  a  present  to  Odin  from  Baldur,  and  some 
valuable  gifts  from  Nanna  to  Friga.  Every  thing  wept  for 
Baldur,  except  one  old  woman,  who  refused.      This  was 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  205 

found  to  be  Loki  in  disguise,  who  never  ceased  to  work  evil 
among  the  -^Esir.  To  escape  the  wrath  of  the  gods,  Loki 
changed  himself  into  a  salmon,  was  pursued  down  a  river, 
and  in  leaping  a  net  was  caught  by  Thor  in  his  hands.  The 
gods  then  confined  him  in  a  cavern,  with  a  serpent  directly 
over  him  ;  and  as  the  venom  drops  on  him,  he  writhes  and 
howls,  and  this  makes  that  shaking  of  the  earth  that  men 
call  earthquakes.  Loki's  two  children  were  taken,  and  one 
changed  to  a  wolf;  and  he  immediately  devoured  the  other. 
The  end  of  all  material  things  is  known  as  Ragnarok, — 
the  twilight  of  the  gods,  and  conflagration  of  the  universe. 
The  world  becomes  corrupt;  a  wolf  devours  the  sun,  and 
another  wolf  the  moon ;  trees  fall,  and  mountains  tumble  to 
pieces.  The  wolf  Fenrir  opens  his  enormous  mouth,  the 
lower  jaw  being  on  the  earth,  and  the  upper  reaching  to 
heaven ;  the  Midgard  serpent  gains  the  land,  and  heaven  is 
cleft  in  twain.  The  sons  of  Muspell  ride  through  the  breach, 
led  by  Surtur,  in  the  midst  of  flaming  fire.  Bifrost  breaks 
in  pieces,  and  a  vast  assemblage  gathers  on  the  battle-field  of 
Vigrid,  which  is  a  hundred  miles  long.  Heimdall  stands 
up,  and,  with  all  his  might,  blows  a  blast  on  the  Gjallar- 
horn,  which  arouses  all  the  gods.  Odin  asks  advice  of 
Mimir;  the  ^Esir,  and  all  the  heroes  of  Valhalla,  led  by  the 
All-father,  go  forth  to  the  field  of  battle.  The  ash,  Yggdra- 
sill,  begins  to  shake ;  a  dissolution  of  all  things  is  at  hand. 
Odin  places  himself  against  the  wolf  Fenrir,  and  Thor  en- 
counters the  Midgard  serpent.  Frey  meets  Surtur,  and  they 
exchange  terrible  blows;  but  Frey  falls,  as  he  has  been  with- 
12* 


266  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

out  his  trusty  sword  ever  since  he  fell  in  love  with  Gerda. 
The  dog,  Garm,  that  had  been  chained  in  a  cave,  breaks 
loose,  and  attacks  Tyr,  and  they  kill  each  other.  Thor  slays 
the  Midgard  serpent,  thereby  gaining  great  renown;  but, 
retiring  nine  paces,  he  falls  dead  on  the  spot,  being  suffoca- 
ted with  the  venom  that  the  dying  serpent  throws  over  him. 
Odin  is  swallowed  by  the  wolf;  and  Vidar,  coming  up,  with 
his  foot  on  the  lower  jaw  and  his  hand  on  the  upper,  he  tears 
the  animal's  jaws  apart,  and  rends  him  till  he  dies.  Loki 
and  Heimdall  fight,  and  kill  each  other.  This  most  terrible 
battle  being  over,  Surtur  darts  fire  and  flame  over  the  world, 
and  the  whole  universe  is  consumed  by  it.  A  heaven,  and 
many  abodes,  both  good  and  bad,  are  supposed  to  exist  after 
this ;  for  the  spirits  of  all  who  have  lived  are  immortal.  A 
new  earth,  most  lovely  and  verdant,  shall  rise  out  of  the  sea, 
and  grain  shall  grow  unsown.  During  the  conflagration,  a 
woman  named  Lif  (Life)  and  a  man  named  Lifthrasir,  lie 
concealed  in  Hodmimir's  forest.  They  feed  on  morning 
dew,  and  their  descendants  soon  cover  the  earth  again.  Vi- 
dar and  Vali  survive  the  conflagration,  and  dwell  on  the  plain 
of  Ida,  where  Asgard  formerly  stood.  Thither  went  the 
sons  of  Thor,  Modi  and  Magni,  carrying  with  them  their 
father's  mallet,  Mjolnir.  Baldur  and  Hodur  repaired  thither 
from  the  abode  of  death  (Hel)  and  there  they  hold  converse 
on  their  past  perils  and  adventures.  A  famous  ship,  called 
Skidbladnir,  is  spoken  of,  that  is  so  large  that  it  would  hold 
all  the  .iEsir,  and  their  weapons.  It  was  built  by  the 
dwarfs,  and  presented  to  Frey;    and,  being  constructed  of 


I 

RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  267 

many  pieces  and  with  great  skill,  when  not  wanted  Frey 
could  fold  it  up  like  a  piece  of  cloth  and  put  it  in  his  pocket. 
In  the  language  of  the  Edda, 

r 

The  ash,  Yggdrasill, 
Is  the  first  of  trees ; 
As  Skidbladnir  of  ships, 
Odin  of  iEsir, 
Sleipnir  of  steeds, 
Bifrost  of  bridges, 
Bragi  of  bards, 
Habrok  of  hawks, 
And  Garm  of  hounds,  is. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

EARLY       LITERATURE       OF      THE       ICELANDERS EDDAS       AND 

SAGAS MANNERS    AND     CUSTOMS     OF     THE     PERIOD EX- 
TRACTS   FROM    THE    POETIC    EDDA. 

According  to  the  system  of  the  Northmen,  man  and 
woman  nvere  the  last  and  most  perfect  productions  of  the 
creative  power.  After  the  ^Esir,  the  Jotuns  and  the  Dwarfs 
had  a  being.  Odin  and  two  other  deities  were  walking  on 
the  sea-shore,  and  came  to  two  trees,  and  from  them  they 
made  the  first  man*  Ask,  and  the  first  woman,  Embla. 
They  had  allotted  to  them,  for  a  residence,  Midgard,  which, 
from  being  the  home  of  man,  was  called  Mannheim  ;  and 
from  these  two,  Ask  and  Embla,  are  descended  the  whole 
human  race.  Some  time  after  this,  Heiradal,  the  warder 
and  trumpeter  of  the  gods,  wandered  over  the  earth  under 
the  name  of  Rigr.  He  was  received  and  hospitably  entertained 
by  the  descendants  of  Ask  and  Embla ;  first  by  Ai — Great 
Grandfather, — and  Edda — Great  Grandmother, — who  dwelt 
in  a  lowly  hut ;  next  by  Afi — Grandfather, — and  Anuria — 
Grandmother, — living  in  a  comfortable  habitation  ;  and, 
lastly,  by  Father  and  Mother,*  who  occupied  a  splendid 
mansion.     The  deity,  by  his   beneficent  presence,  infuses  a 

*  Fa5ir  and  Mo5ir. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  269 

vital  energy  into  his  hosts ;  and,  in  due  time  after  his  de- 
parture, Edda,  Amraa,  and  Mother,  each  give  birth  to  a  son. 
The  infants  are  sprinkled  with  water  at  the  moment  of  their 
birth  :  Edda's  son  is  called  Thrsell — Thrall;  Amma's,  Karl — 
Churl;  and  Mother's,  Jarl,  or  Noble ;  and  these  three, 
Thrall,  Churl,  and  Noble,  have  each  a  numerous  offspring. 
Here  is  an  aristocratic  explanation  of  the  three  castes  that 
appear,  at  an  early  period,  to  have  formed  the  frame-work  of 
Scandinavian  society, — the  thralls,  or  slaves ;  the  churls,  or 
free  peasants — odalsmen,  as  they  were  afterwards  termed ; 
and  the  nobles.  The  poet,  in  his  Edda,*  describes  the 
thralls  as  having  black  hair,  an  unsightly  countenance,  un- 
couth appearance,  and  of  low  and  deformed  stature  ;  physio- 
logical traits  characteristic  of  the  Lapps,  who  were  probably 
reduced  to  a  state  of  vassalage  by  their  Scandinavian  con- 
querors. The  destiny  of  the  thralls  is  to  toil  incessantly,  in 
order  that  by  their  labor  the  churls  may  obtain  sufficient 
produce  from  the  earth  to  enable  the  nobles  to  live  with 
becoming  splendor.  The  poet  shows  his  contempt  for  this 
class,  by  giving  Thrall's  sons  such  names  as  Frousy,  Stumpy, 
Plumpy,  Sootyface,  Slowpace,  Homespun,  &c,  and  calling 
his  daughters  Lazy  body,  Cranefoot,  Smoky  nose,  and  Tear- 
clout.  Among  the  churls,  sons  of  Karl,  we  find  such  names 
as  Stiffbeard,  Husbandman,  Holder  (of  land),  and  Smith  ; 
the  daughters  being  designated  Prettyface,  Svvanlike,  Blithe- 
speech,  Chatterbox,  &c.  The  poet,  though,  reserves  the 
most  of  his  eloquence  for  the  nobles,  who,  he  says,  have  fair 

*  The  Rigsmdl,  a  poem  of  the  Mythic-ethnologic  class. 


2*70  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

hair,  a  clear  complexion,  and  fine  piercing  eyes ;  their  sole 
avocations  being  to  wield  the  sword,  dart  the  javelin,  rein 
the  fiery  steed,  chase  the  deer,  and  other  elegant  amusements, 
which  Jarl's  descendants  still  delight  to  astonish  the  churls 
with.  Jarl— equivalent  to  Earl — marries  Erna — Lively — 
the  daughter  of  Hersir — Baron  ;  but  the  poet  only  gives  the 
names  of  the  sons;  names  that  usually  designate  relation- 
ship, as  Cousin,  Nephew,  &c. 

The  literary  history  of  Iceland,  in  the  early  ages  of  the 
republic,  is  of  a  most  interesting  character.  When  we  con- 
sider the  limited  population  of  the  country,  and  the  many 
disadvantages  under  which  they  labored,  their  literature  is 
the  most  remarkable  on  record.  The  old  Icelanders,  from 
the  tenth  to  the  sixteenth  century,  through  a  period  in  the 
history  of  the  world  when  little  intellectual  light  beamed 
from  the  surrounding  nations,  were  as  devoted  and  ardent 
workers  in  the  fields  of  history  and  poetry  as  any  commu- 
nity in  the  world,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances. 
Previous  to  the  present  century,  the  learned  world  seemed 
to  consider  the  writings  of  the  Icelanders  as  almost  unwor- 
thy of  notice.  With  the  discovery  through  old  manuscripts 
that  the  early  voyages  of  the  Icelanders  extended  to  the 
American  coast,  there  was  an  interest  aroused,  and  curiosity 
was  excited  to  learn  the  entire  history  of  this  energetic  and 
intellectual  race.  Springing  from  the  old  Norse,  or  Norwe- 
gian stock,  they  carried  the  language  and  habits  of  their 
ancestors  with  them  to  their  island  home.  During  a  period 
of  nearly  one  thousand  years,  since  the  first  settlement  of  the 
country,  the   Icelandic   has  undergone   less  change — with 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  271 

perhaps  one  exception — than  any  language  now  spoken. 
Though  a  very  large  number  of  our  English  words  are  de- 
rived direct  from  the  Icelandic,  yet  the  most  learned  and 
indefatigable  of  our  lexicographers,  both  in  England  and 
America,  have  acknowledged  their  ignorance  of  this  lan- 
guage. Through  the  labors  of  Professors  Rask,  Rafn,  and 
Miiller,  M.  Mallett,  Mr.  Finn  Magnusen,  and  others,  the  lan- 
guage and  literature  of  .this  country  is  now  open  to  us. 

The  writings  of  the  early  Icelanders  are  principally 
Eddas  and  Sagas.  The  Eddas  are  the  heroic  poems  of  the 
day,  and  describe  the  deeds  and  prowess  of  heroes  and  war- 
riors ;  and  some  of  them  abound  in  mythological  machinery 
to  an  extent  quite  equal  to  the  writings  of  Homer  and  Yirgil. 
The  two  principal  Eddas  are  known  as  the  Poetic,  or  Elder 
Edda,  and  the  Younger,  or  Prose  Edda.  The  Sagas  are 
historical  writings,  give  a  picture  of  the  public  and  private 
life  of  the  Icelanders,  their  manners  and  customs,  feuds,  com- 
bats, voyages,  and  discoveries,  biography  of  eminent  persons, 
and  such  a  description  of  their  national  and  social  state,  as 
enables  us  to  see  the  character  and  habits  of  the  people 
during  the  early  years  of  the  Icelandic  Republic. 

The  Elder  Edda  consists  of  thirty -nine  poems,  and  is 
ascribed  to  S^emund  Sigfusson,  surnamed  Frode,  or,  "  the 
learned."  He  flourished  at  the  close  of  the  eleventh,  and 
beginning  of  the  twelfth  century  ;  was  educated  at  the  Uni- 
versities of  France  and  Germany,  and  returned  to  Iceland, 
and  became  the  parish  priest  of  Oddi,  a  village  near  the  foot 
of  Mt.  Hekla.  He  devoted  himself  to  the  education  of 
youth,  deciphering  Runic  manuscripts,  and  the  cultivation  of 


272  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

letters.  Some  suppose  that  he  was  only  the  author  of  one 
of  these  poems ;  that  he  found  the  others  in  manuscript,  or 
obtained  them  from  oral  tradition.  In  proof  of  this,  one 
only — the  Solar-ljoth — Lay  of  the  Sun — contains  the  least 
allusion  to  Christianity.  All  the  others  bear  marks  of  greater 
antiquity  than  the  eleventh  century. 

The  Prose,  or  Younger  Edda,  was  written  many  years 
subsequent  to  the  Elder  Edda.  It  contains  a  complete  sys- 
tem of  Scandinavian  Mythology,  all,  or  nearly  all,  derived 
from  the  Elder. 

The  account  of  the  Mythology  of  the  Northmen  in  the 
former  chapters,  is  principally  from  Mallett's  account  of  the 
younger  Edda, — Bishop  Percy's  translation.  Snorri  Sturla- 
son,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  in  the  annals  of  Ice- 
land, is  said  to  be  the  writer  and  compiler  of  the  younger 
Edda.  The  prominent  incidents  of  his  life  give  a  striking 
picture  of  the  manners  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived.  This 
was  several  generations  later  than  the  time  of  Ssemund 
Frode.  Snorri  was  born  at  Hvam,  in  Myra  Sysla,  in  the 
year  1178.  He  was  a  historian  and  poet,  as  well  as  a  pow- 
erful political  chieftain,  and  at  one  time  the  wealthiest  man 
in  Iceland.  During  his  life  he  was  twice  elected  Supreme 
Magistrate,  or  President  of  the  Republic.  At  three  years  of 
age,  he  was  taken  into  the  care  of  John  Lopston,  of  Oddi, 
grandson  of  Ssemund  Frode,  and  lived  with  him  till  he  was 
twenty  years  of  age.  He  flourished  in  a  stormy  period,  and 
led  a  turbulent  and  ambitious  life.  He  received  an  excellent 
education  from  his  foster-father,  and  turned  every  favorable 
circumstance   to    his    own    advantage.      Appreciating    the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  273 

adage,  that  "money  is  power,"  be  marrried  Herdisa,  the 
daughter  of  a  priest  called  Bersi  the  Rich — a  very  enviable 
surname,  which,  no  doubt,  enabled  the  reverend  gentleman  to 
brave  the  bulls  and  decrees  of  popes  and  councils,  and  take 
to  himself  a  wife — who  brought  him  a  very  considerable 
fortune.  If  we  judge  by  the  career  of  Snorri,  Christianity 
had  not,  at  this  period,  much  improved  the  character  of  the 
Icelanders.  We  have  the  same  turbulent  and  sanguinary 
scenes,  the  same  loose  conduct  of  the  women,  and  the  perfidy 
and  remorseless  cruelty  of  the  men,  as  in  Pagan  times. 
Snorri  lived  twenty-five  years  with  Herdisa,  obtained  a  di- 
vorce, married  a  rich  heiress,  quarreled  with  a  son  and 
daughter  of  his  first  wife  respecting  pecuniary  matters,  had  a 
number  of  illegitimate,  or,  rather,  adulterine  children,  and 
was  finally  murdered  by  three  of  his  sons-in-law  and  a  step- 
son. Three  of  his  illegitimate  daughters  were  married  to 
men  of  rank,  and  in  more  respects  than  one,  were  like  the 
daughters  of  Lear.  Their  husbands  were  obliged  to  get  rid 
of  them  by  suing  for  legal  divorces,  on  account  of  their  loose 
conduct.  One  of  them,  Ingjibjorg,  married  a  second  time, 
but  was  again  divorced,  and  became  notorious,  even  in  Ice- 
land, for  her  debaucheries.*  By  his  marriages,  his  learning 
shrewdness,  and  ambition,  Snorri  became  the  most  wealthy 
and  powerful  man  in  the  country,  and,  for  some  time  the 
political  head  of  the  state.  We  are  told  that  sometimes  he 
made  his  appearance  at  the  national  assembly  with  eight  or 
nine  hundred  men  in  his  train.     His  ambition  was  literary, 

*  Mallet 


274  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

as  well  as  political,  and  bis  celebrity  was  not  confined  to  bis 
own  country.  He  visited  Norway,  composed  and  recited  a 
poem  in  praise  of  Hacon,  a  powerful  jarl ;  and  strengthened 
his  position  at  borne  by  an  alliance  With  neighboring  chiefs 
on  the  continent.  Like  the  emperors  of  Rome,  he  con- 
structed a  sumptuous  bath  of  cut  stone  and  cement,  which, 
to  this  day,  is  called  Snorri-laug,  or  Snorri's  Bath.  It  is 
circular,  and  spacious  enough  to  swim  in.  It  is  supplied 
with  hot  water  from  a  spouting  fountain  or  geyser,  by  a  con- 
duit over  five  hundred  feet  in  length.  Though  more  than 
six  hundred  years  have  passed  since  it  was  built,  it  is  in  good 
repair  at  the  present  day,  and  has  been  used  as  a  temporary 
bathing-place  by  some  modern  travelers. 

After  a  period  of  unexampled  prosperity,  Snorri  began 
to  experience  the  frowns  of  fortune.  His  avarice,  ambition, 
and  turbulent  disposition,  made  him  unpopular  at  home, 
and  embroiled  him  in  quarrels  with  neighboring  chiefs  and 
rulers.  Gissur  Thorvaldsen,  formerly  his  son-in-law,  was 
ordered  by  Hacon,  king  of  Norway,  to  make  him  a  prisoner, 
and  bring  him  before  the  king ;  and  if  he  could  not  take  him 
alive,  to  bring  him  dead.  Having  an  eye  on  his  estates, 
Thorvaldsen  assassinated  him,  on  the  night  of  the  22d  of 
September,  1241,  and  immediately  took  possession  of  his 
property.  Snorri  fell  in  the  63d  year  of  his  age.  A  letter 
in  the  Runic  character,  was  sent  to  him,  a  few  hours  before 
his  death,  warning  him  of  his  danger ;  but  we  are  told,  not- 
withstanding his  great  learning  and  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  antiquities  and  literature  of  the  country,  that  he 
could  not  decipher  it.     In  addition  to  his  poetical  and  other 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  2*75 

works,  he  was  author  and  compiler  of  the  Heimskringla,  or 
**  Chronicle  of  the  Kings  of  Norway,"  a  historical  work  of 
great  interest  and  celebrity. 

A  bare  recital  of  the  titles  of  the  different  poems  forming 
the  Eddas,  would  be  of  little  interest.  One  was  entitled 
the  Voluspa — Volo-spa,  The  Song  of  the  Prophetess. 
Another  is  the  Hava-mal*  and  contains  a  complete  code  of 
Odinic  morality ;  and,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  ex- 
tracts, translated  by  Bishop  Percy,  are,  many  of  them,  wor- 
thy of  a  christian  age  and  a  christian  people.  We  will 
close  this  chapter,  and  our  account  of  the  Literature  and 
Mythology  of  the  early  Icelanders,  by  the  following  quota- 
tions from  the  Old  Eddaic  poem,  the  Havamal  : 

1.  Consider  and  examine  well  all  your  doors  before  you 
venture  to  stir  abroad ;  for  he  is  exposed  to  continual  dan- 
ger, whose  enemies  lie  in  ambush,  concealed  in  his  court. 

3.  To  the  guest  who  enters  your  dwelling  with  frozen 
knees,  give  the  warmth  of  your  fire ;  he  who  hath  traveled 
over  the  mountains,  hath  need  of  food  and  well-dried  gar- 
ments. 

4.  Offer  water  to  him  who  sits  down  at  your  table ;  for 
he  hath  occasion  to  cleanse  his  hands ;  and  entertain  him 
honorably  and  kindly,  if  you  would  win  from  him  friendly 
words,  and  a  grateful  return. 

5.  He  who  traveleth  hath  need  of  wisdom.     One  may 

*  31al,  song,  discourse,  speech,  a  word  cognate  with  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  mal,  meet,  the  Greek  peXos,  &Q.  Hava-mal  signifies  the  dis- 
course or  canticle  of  the  sublime;  i.  e.  deity.  Odin  himself  was 
supposed  to  have  given  these  precepts  of  wisdom  to  mankind. 


276  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

do  at  home  whatsoever  one  will ;  but  he  who  is  ignorant  of 
good  manners,  will  only  draw  contempt  upon  himself  when 
he  comes  to  sit  down  with  men  well  instructed. 

1.  He  who  goes  to  a  feast  where  he  is  not  expected, 
either  speaks  with  a  lowly  voice,  or  is  silent ;  he  listens 
with  his  ears,  and  is  attentive  with  his  eyes ;  by  this  he  ac- 
quires knowledge  and  wisdom. 

8.  Happy  he  who  draws  upon  himself  the  applause  and 
benevolence  of  men !  for  whatever  depends  upon  the  will  of 
others,  is  hazardous  and  uncertain. 

10.  A  man  can  carry  with  him  no  better  provision  for 
his  journey,  than  the  strength  of  understanding.  In  a  for- 
eign country,  this  will  be  of  more  use  to  him  than  treasures  ; 
and  will  introduce  him  to  the  table  of  strangers. 

12-13.  A  man  cannot  carry  a  worse  custom  with  him  to 
a  banquet,  than  that  of  drinking  too  much ;  the  more  the 
drunkard  swallows  the  less  is  his  wisdom,  till  he  loses  his 
reason.  The  bird  of  oblivion  sings  before  those  who  inebri- 
ate themselves,  and  steals  away  their  souls. 

16.  A  coward  thinks  he  shall  live  forever,  if  he  can  but 
keep  out  of  the  reach  of  arms ;  but  though  he  should  es- 
cape every  weapon,  old  age,  that  spares  none,  will  give  him 
no  quarter. 

]  7.  The  gluttonous  man,  if  he  is  not  upon  his  guard, 
eats  his  own  death  ;  and  the  gluttony  of  a  fool  makes  the 
wise  man  laugh. 

2 1 .  The  flocks  know  when  to  return  to  the  fold,  and  to 
quit  the  pasture ;  but  the  worthless  and  the  slothful  know 
not  how  to  restrain  their  gluttony. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  277 

22.  The  lewd  and  dissolute  man  makes  a  mock  of  every 
thing ;  not  considering  how  much  he  himself  is  the  object 
of  derision.  No  one  ought  to  laugh  at  another  until  he  is 
free  from  faults  himself. 

23.  A  man  void  of  sense  ponders  all  night  long,  and 
his  mind  wanders  without  ceasing;  but  when  he  is  weary  at 
the  point  of  day,  he  is  nothing  wiser  than  he  was  over 
night. 

32.  Many  are  thought  to  be  knit  in  the  ties  of  sincere 
kindness ;  but  when  it  comes  to  the  proof,  how  much  are 
they  deceived  !  Slander  is  the  common  vice  of  the  age. 
Even  the  host  backbites  his  guest. 

37.  One's  own  home  is  the  best  home,  though  never  so   | 
small.     Every  thing  one  eats  at  home  is  sweet.     He  who 
lives  at  another  man's  table,  is  often  obliged  to  wrong  his 
palate. 

41.  Let  friends  pleasure  each  other  reciprocally  with 
presents  of  arms  and  habits.  Those  who  give  and  those 
who  receive,  continue  a  long  time  friends,  and  often  give 
feasts  to  each  other. 

43.  Love  both  your  friends  and  your  friends'  friends ; 
but  do  not  favor  the  friend  of  your  enemies. 

45.  Hast  thou  a  friend  whom  thou  canst  not  well  trust, 
but  wouldst  make  him  useful  to  thee  ;  speak  to  him  with 
bland  words,  but  think  craftily,  and  thus  render  him  levity 
for  lies. 

47.  When  I  was  young,  I  wandered  about  alone ;  I 
thought  myself  rich  if  I  chanced  to  light  upon  a  companion. 
A  man  gives  pleasure  to  another  man. 


278  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

51.  Peace,  among  the  perfidious,  continues  for  five 
nights  to  shine  bright  as  a  flame ;  but  when  the  sixth  night 
approaches,  the  flame  waxes  dim,  and  is  quite  extinguished  ; 
hen  all  their  amity  turns  to  hatred. 

55.  Let  not  a  man  be  over  wise ;  neither  let  him  be 
more  curious  than  he  ought.  Let  him  not  seek  to  know  his 
destiny,  if  he  would  sleep  secure  and  quiet. 

67.  They  invite  me  up  and  down  to  feasts,  if  I  have  only 
need  of  a  slight  breakfast:  my  faithful  friend  is  he  who 
will  give  me  one  loaf  when  he  has  but  two. 

70.  Whilst  we  live,  let  us  live  well ;  for  be  a  man  never 
so  rich  when  he  lights  his  fire,  death  may  perhaps  enter  his 
door  before  it  be  burnt  out. 

7  2.  It  is  better  to  have  a  son  late  than  never.  One  sel- 
dom sees  sepulchral  stones  raised  over  the  graves  of  the 
dead  by  any  other  hands  but  those  of  their  own  offspring. 

77.  Riches  pass  away  like  the  twinkling  of  an  eye;  of 
all  friends,  they  are  the  most  inconstant.  Flocks  perish ; 
relations  die ;  friends  are  not  immortal ;  you  will  die  your- 
self; but  I  know  one  thing  alone  that  is  out  of  the  reach  of 
fate ;  and  that  is  the  judgment  which  is  passed  upon  the 
dead. 

81.  Praise  the  fineness  of  the  day  when  it  is  ended ; 
praise  a  woman  when  she  is  buried;  a  sword  when  you 
have  proved  it ;  a  maiden  after  she  is  married ;  the  ice 
when  once  you  have  crossed  it ;  and  the  liquor  after  it 
is  drunk. 

84.  Trust  not  to  the  words  of  a  girl,  neither  to  those 
which  a  woman  utters ;    for  their  hearts  have  been  made 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 


279 


like  the  wheel  that  turns  round ;  levity  was  put  into  their 
bosoms. 

86-87.  Trust  not  to  the  ice  of  one  day's  freezing ;  nei- 
ther to  the  serpent  that  lies  asleep  ;  nor  to  the  caresses  of 
her  you  are  going  to  marry ;  nor  to  a  sword  that  is  cracked 
or  broken  ;  nor  to  the  son  of  a  powerful  man  ;  nor  to  a  field 
that  is  newly  sown. 

90.  Peace  between  malicious  women  is  compared  to  a 
horse  that  is  made  to  walk  over  the  ice  not  properly  shod  ; 
or  to  a  vessel  in  a  storm  without  a  rudder  ;  or  to  a  lame 
man  who  should  attempt  to  follow  the  mountain  goats  with 
a  young  foal,  or  yearling  mule. 

92.  He  who  would  make  himself  beloved  by  a  maiden, 
must  entertain  her  with  fine  discourses,  and  offer  her  en- 
gaging presents  ;  he  must  also  incessantly  praise  her  beauty. 
It  requires  good  sense  to  be  a  skillful  lover. 

95.  The  heart  alone  knows  what  passes  within  the  heart, 
and  that  which  betrays  the  soul,  is  the  soul  itself.  There  is 
no  malady  or  sickness  more  severe  than  not  to  be  content 
with  one's  lot. 

119.  Never  discover  your  uneasiness  to  an  evil  person, 
for  he  will  afford  you  no  comfort. 

121.  Know  that  if  you  have  a  friend,  you  ought  to  visit 
him  often.  The  road  is  grown  over  with  grass,  the  bushes 
quickly  spread  over  it,  if  it  is  not  constantly  traveled. 

123.  Be  not  the  first  to  break  with  your  friend.    Sorrow 


280  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

gnaws  the  heart  of  him  who  has  no  one  to  advise  with  but 
himself. 

130.  I  advise  you  to  be  circumspect,  but  not  too  much  : 
be  so,  however,  when  you  have  drunk  to  excess,  when  you 
are  near  the  wife  of  another,  and  when  you  find  yourself 
among  robbers. 

131.  Do  not  accustom  yourself  to  mocking;  neither 
laugh  at  your  guest  nor  a  stranger :  they  who  remain  at 
home  often  know  not  who  the  stranger  is  that  cometh  to 
their  gate. 

136.  Laugh  not  at  the  gray-headed  declaimer,  nor  at 
the  aged  grandsire.  There  often  come  forth  from  the  wrin- 
kles of  the  skin,  words  full  of  wisdom. 

140.  The  fire  drives  away  diseases ;  Runic  characters 
destroy  the  effect  of  imprecations ;  the  earth  swallows  up 
inundations ;  and  death  extinguishes  hatred  and  quarrels. 


CHAPTEE    XXVI 


Litera  scripta  manet," 


The  poet  saith.     Pray  let  me  show  my  vanit- 

Y,  and  have  "a  foreign  slipslop  now  and  then, 
If  but  to  prove  I've  traveled ;  and  what's  travel, 
Unless  it  teaches  one  to  quote  and  cavil  V 

The  modern  literature  of  the  Icelanders  is  of  quite  a  dif- 
ferent character  from  that  in  heathen  times,  and  in  the  early 
history  of  the  country,  from  the  tenth  to  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury. They  seem  as  much  devoted  to  poetry  as  their  ances- 
tors, and  their  style  of  versification  is  similar  ;  but  they  court 
the  muse  in  a  different  strain.  The  poetry  of  the  modern 
Icelanders  does  not  abound  in  mythology,  hyperbole,  and 
fable  ;  and  it  may  reasonably  be  supposed  that  works  of  im- 
agination have  lost  something  of  the  hue  of  romance  that  is 
thrown  around  the  productions  of  a  heroic  age.  A  study  of 
the  works  of  foreign  authors- — translations  from  eminent 
christian  poets,  in  Norway,  Germany,  England,  and  the 
United  States,  are  favorite  pursuits  of  the  modern  Icelanders ; 
and  works  of  this  description  are  among  the  most  popular 
published  in  the  country. 

Among  the  original  writers  and  translators  of  the  present 
century,  none  rank  as  high  as  Jon  Thorlakson.  Receiving  a 
scanty  salary  of  less  than  fifty  dollars  a  year,  as  parish  priest 
of  Baegisa,  and  laboring  hard  as  a  farmer,  he  yet  found  time 
to  translate  from  English  and  German  writers,  and  to  com- 
pose original  poetry,  to  the  extent  of  several  octavo  volumes, 
13 


282  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

About  the  year  1818,.his  case  attracted  the  attention  of  a 
learned  society  in  London,  and  a  sum  of  money  was  for- 
warded to  him  to  smooth  his  declining  years ;  but  he  survived 
only  till  1821,  being  over  seventy  years  of  age  at  the  time 
of  his  death.  His  translation  of  Milton  was  published  in 
Icelandic,  in  octavo — double  columns — a  volume  of  over 
400  pages,  in  1828.  The  "Essay  on  Man,"  and  a  volume  of 
original  poetry  of  great  merit  were  published  in  1842. 
Among  his  original  poems  are  two  versions  of  the  story  of 
Inkle  and  Yarico. 

The  style  of  versification  in  vogue  among  the  early  Ice- 
landic writers  was  very  peculiar.  Its  harmony  was  depen- 
dent, not  so  much  on  rhyme  and  the  number  of  syllables  in 
a  line,  as  upon  peculiar  alliterations.  Their  language  abound- 
ing in  consonants,  this  seemed  easier  than  rhymes,  which 
were  seldom  used.  Some  of  their  kinds  of  verse  had  regu- 
lar alliterations  at  the  commencement  of  the  lines;  other 
varieties,  just  so  many  alliterations  in  a  line,  or  alliterations 
in  a  similar  position  in  certain  words  of  corresponding  lines. 
The  following  is  a  very  good  example.  It  is  from  an  "  Ad- 
dress to  the  New  Year,"  or,  more  literally,  u  The  sight  of  the 
New  Year." 

NYARS    VISUR. 

VerSi  bliSda  veSurs! 
Vifcir  blomgi  hliSar! 
Veifcist  vel  a  miSum  ! 
Vaxi  gengdin  laxa! 
Glitri  grund  og  flotur! 
Groi  tun  og  floi! 
Neytist  afl  til  nota ! 
Nytist  allttilhlitar! 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  283 

How  ingenious  and  regular  are  the  alliterations !  This 
is  from  a  poem,  written  in  184*7.  During  the  present  cen- 
tury, rhymes  have  been  gaining  in  favor  greatly.  A  longer 
meter  and  more  perfect  rhythm  is  also  cultivated.  The  old 
verse,  and  much  of  the  more  modern,  is  a  very  short  meter, 
which,  to  us,  does  not  seem  as  poetical  as  a  more  stately  and 
majestic  tread.  Formerly,  and  sometimes  at  the  present 
day,  verse  was  printed  without  capitals,  except  at  the  com- 
mencement of  a  stanza.  Let  us  see  how  old  John  Milton 
looks  in  an  Icelandic  dress;  and  how  Mr.  Thorlakson 
sings : — 

Of  man's  first  disobedience,  and  the  fruit 
Of  that  forbidden  tree  whose  mortal  taste 
Brought  death  into  the  world  and  all  our  woe. 

Um  fyrsta  manns 
felda  hlyiSni 
ok  atlysting 
af  epli  forbo&nu, 
hvaSan  ovsegr 
upp  kom  daufci, 
Edens  missir, 
ok  allt  bol  manna; 

J>artil  annarr  einn, 
sefcri  mafcr, 
aptr  fser 
oss  viSreista, 
ok  afrekar  nyan 
oss  til  handa 
fullsselustaS 
fogrum  sigri ; 


284  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

Syng  ]m,  Menta- 
m6$ir  himneska! 
\<x  sem  Horebs  fyrr 
a  huldum  toppi, 
e$a  Sinai, 
saufcaverfci 
innblest  frseSanda 
titvalit  ssefci, 
hve  alheimr  skopst 
af  alls  samblandi ; 

ESa  lysti  ]>ik 
langtum  heldr 
at  Zions  haefc 
ok  Silo  a  brunni, 
sem  frarastreymdi 
hja  Frett  gufcligri ! 

We  can  barely  recognize  the  "  heavenly  Muse  " — Menta- 
mothir  hymneska  " — Mother  of  hymns ! — 


-"that,  on  the  secret  top 


Of  Oreb,  or  of  Sinai,  did'st  inspire 
That  shepherd  who  first  taught  the  chosen  seed, 
In  the  beginning,  how  Heaven  and  Earth 
Kose  out  of  chaos." 

Thorlakson's  version  of  Pope's  great  Essay  is  a  later 
translation,  and,  probably,  a  better  one.  It  is  longer  meter, 
is  all  in  rhyme,  and  more  in  accordance  with  the  structure 
of  English  verse.*  Here  is  a  selection  from  the  fourth  epis- 
tle of  the  Essay,  with  the  translation : — 

*  A  sample  is  given  at  the  head  of  Chapter  IV.,  page  61,  of  this 
volume. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  285 

But,  by  your  fathers'  worth,  if  yours  you  rate, 

Count  me  those  only  who  were  good  and  great. 

Go !  if  your  ancient  but  ignoble  blood 

Has  crept  through  scoundrels  ever  since  the  flood, 

Go !  and  pretend  your  family  is  young ; 

Nor  own  your  fathers  have  been  fools  so  long. 

What  can  ennoble  sots,  or  slaves,  or  cowards  ? — 

Alas!  not  all  the  blood  of  all  the  Howards. 

Mr.  Thorlakson  gives  it  in  this  style. 

En  se  ySvart  hr5  aldna  bol$ 

i  oterligum  runniS  straum 

hartil  nu  stfSan  Noa  floS, 

narra-registar  gegnum  aum, 

segifc  ha  heldur  ySar  sett 

unga;  latifc  ei  heyra  neinn 

a$  ser  hafi  svo  lengi  lsedt 

i  legg  heim  daraskapur  einn ! 

HvaS  skarn-hrsel,  narra,  skelmskum  hal, 

skapa  kann  aSals-mseti  go$  ? 

ei  heilar  aettar  tallaust  tal 

til  vinnst,  ei  gjorvalt  HovarSs  bloS. 

One  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Icelandic  poetry,  is  a  trans- 
lation of  Bruce's  Address  to  his  Army,  on  the  following 
page.  It  shows  the  flexibility  of  the  Icelandic  language  in 
a  striking  light ;  the  piece  preserving  the  exact  number  of 
stanzas,  the  same  number  of  lines  to  a  stanza,  and  rhymes 
precisely  like  the  song  of  Burns,  so  that  in  the  Icelandic 
version  it  can  be  sung  to  the  same  air. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 


BAKNOCKBURK 

AVARP    ROBERT    BRUCE    TIL    HERLITHS    SINS 
EPTIR    BURNS. 

Skotar,  er  "Wallace  vor5ust  me5, 
Vig  me6  Bruce  opt  hafi5  sje5; 
Velkomnir  a5  bl65gum  be5, 
Bjartri  e5a  sigurfrseg5 ! 

Stund  og  dagur  dyr  nu  er; 
Dau5inn  ognar  hvar  sem  sjer; 
Jatvarfts  a5  oss  se5ir  her  — 
Ok  og  hlekkja  naeg5! 

Hverr  vill  bera  ni5ings  nafn  ? 
Na  hver  bley5u  seoja  hrafn  ? 
Falla  hrael  ofrjalsum  jafn? 
Flyti  hann  burtu  sjer ! 

Hverr  vill  hlinur  Hildar  bals 
Hjor  nu  draga  hins  g65a  nials, 
Stan  da  bae5i  og  falla  frjals  ? 
Fari  hann  eptir  mjer! 

Anau5ar  vi5  eymd  og  grond! 
Y5ar  sona  jjrseldoms  bond! 
Vjer  viljum  lata  lif  og  ond, 
En  leysa  ur  hlekkjura  ta! 

FelliS  grimma  fjendur  )>vi! 
Frelsi  er  hverju  hoggi  i! 
Sjai  oss  hrosa  sgiri  ny 
Sol,  e5a  or5na  a5  na! 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  28? 

We  give  the  original,  so  they  may  be  readily  compared. 
BANNOCKBURK 


Scots,  wha  hae  wi'  Wallace  bled ! 
Scots  wham  Bruce  has  aften  led ! 
Welcome  to  your  gory  bed, 
Or  to  victory. 

Now's  the  day  and  now's  the  hour; 
See  the  front  o'  battle  lour; 
See  approach  proud  Edward's  power — 
Chains  and  slavery! 

Wha  will  be  a  traitor  knare  ? 
Wha  can  fill  a  coward's  grave? 
Wha  sae  base  as  be  a  slave  ? 
Let  him  turn  and  flee! 

Wha  for  Scotland's  king  and  law, 
Freedom's  sword  will  strangly  draw  I 
Freeman  stand,  or  freeman  fa', 
Let  him  follow  me! 

By  oppression's  woes  and  pains ! 

By  your  sons  in  servile  chains! 

We  will  drain  our  dearest  veins, 

But  they  shall  be  free. 

Lay  the  proud  usurpers  low! 
Tyrants  fall  in  every  foe  1 
Liberty's  in  every  blow ! 
Let  us  do  or  die ! 


288  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

These  examples,  though  but  disjecta  membra  poetce,  are 
sufficient  to  show  something  of  the  structure  and  appear- 
ance of  Icelandic  poetry;  and,  probably  to  the  general 
reader,  as  interesting  as  a  dissertation  that  would  fill  a 
volume. 

One  more  specimen,  however,  of  their  verse,  shall  be 
given  ;  a  couple  of  stanzas  of  a  very  popular  Icelandic  hymn. 
It  is  entitled,  "  The  weeping  of  Jacob  over  Rachel,"  or, 

GRATUR  JACOBS  YFIR  RAKEL. 

Hvert  er  farin  hin  fagra  og  bli<5a? 

Forstu  Rakel  i  svipanna  heim  ? 
Fyrir  sunnu  sje  jeg  nu  115a 

Svarta  floka  og  dimmir  i  geim. 
Rakel!  Rakel!  daprast  nu  dagar, 

Dvin  rajer  gle5i,  bratt  enda  mun  Hf ; 
LeiSir  eru  mjer  Ijdsgrsenir  hagar — 

Liggur  i  moldu  hi5  astk£era  vif. 

Drottinn  Abrahams  !  deyr  nu  minn  ronxur, 

Dau5ans  skuggi  i  hjarta  mjer  er; 
Drottinn  Abrahams !  au5ur  og  tomur 

Er  nti  heimur  og  dagsbirta  hver; 
Drottinn  Abrahams !  barn  J>itt  sja  bifa ! 

B165ug  falla  tar  Ipess  k  mund ; 
Drottinn  Abrahams!  lat  mig  ei  lifa! — 

Liggur  1  moldu  hi5  harmdau5a  sprund. 

We  will  now  have  a  specimen  of  Icelandic  prose.  See 
how  queer  our  good  old  plain  philosopher  Franklin  looks 
in  a  Northern  dress.     Here  is  his  "  Story  of  a  Whistle." 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  289 

HLJtfTHPfPAK 

EPTIR    DR.    BENJAMIN    FRANKLIN. 

Sonn  saga  —  skrifu5  framda  bans  ungum. 

ba5  bar  til  einhvern  helgidag  begar  eg  var  eitthva5  sjo  vetra  ga- 
mall,  a5  kunningjar  minir  fylltu  vasa  rnina  koparskildingum.  Jeg 
gekk  ba,  strax  beina  lei5  til  budar  bar  sem  barnagull  voru  seld ; 
en  a  lei5inni  maetti  jeg  dreng,  sem  hjelt  a  hljoftpipu,  og  J>6tti  mjer 
svo  fallegt  hlj65i5  i  henni,  a5  jeg  bau5  honum  af  fyrra  brag5i  allt 
fje  mitt  fyrir  hana.  Si5an  for  eg  heim  og  gekk  um  611  litis  blasandi 
a  hljobpipuna  mina,  og  var  hinn  katasti  b6  eg  gjorfti  ollum  heima- 
monnum  6nse5i.  Brae5ur  minir,  systur,  og  frsendur  komust  bratt 
a5  um  kaupskap  minn,  og  sog5u  mjer  ba  a5  eg  hef5i  gefi5  fjorum 
sinnum  meira  fyrir  pipuna  enn  htin  vseri  ver5.  ba  for  eg  a5  bugsa 
um  hva5  marga  g65a  gripi  eg  heffti  geta5  eignast  fyrir  ba5,  sem 
eptir  hef<5i  matt  vert5a  af  skildingum  rainum ;  og  bau  blou  svo 
lengi  a5  heimsku  minni,  a5  jeg  grjet  af  gremju,  og  umbugsanin  um 
betta  brigg5i  mig  meira  enn  hljobpipan  gladdi  mig. 

betta  atvik  kom  mjer  bo  si5an  til  nota,  bvi  ahrifin  ur5u  eptir  i 
sal  minni;  og  opt,  begar  freistni  kom  a5  mjer  a5  kaupe  einhvern 

6barfann,  sagSi  eg  vi5  sjalfan  mig,  gefhu  ei  of  miki?)  fyrir  hlohjpi- 
puna  ;  og  me5  bvi  moti  hjelt  eg  fje  minu. 

begar  eg  ox  upp,  komst  tit  i  heiminn,  og  for  a5  taka  eptir  breitni 

manna,  ba  fannst  mjer  svo  sem  eg  hitti  marga,  mjog  marga,  sem 

gafu  of  mi kib  fyrir  hljoftpipima. 

begar  eg  sa  mann,  af  eintomri  eptirsokn  eptir  hylli  konunga, 

ey5a  aldri  sinum  i  bvi  a5  bi5a  eptir  bentugleiknm  beirra,  forna 

nse5i  sinu,  frelsi,  dyg5  og  jafnvel  vinum  sinum,  til  a5  na  henni,  ba 

sag5i  jeg  vi5  sjalfan  mig,  Ipessi  maftur  gefur  of  mikib  fyrir  hljoftpipu 

sina. 

begar  eg  sa  annan  mann  lata  miki5  af  alby5u  hylli,  og  verja 

stundum  sinum  til  a5  kvetja  menn  til  ospekta,  en  sjalfum  sjer  til 
13* 


290  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

obsetanlegs  ska5a  vanrrekja  efni  sin;  hann  gefur  sannarlcga,  sag5i 
eg  )>&,  of  mikift  fyrir  hljobpipu  sina. 

Ef  eg  sje  einhvern  armingja,  sem  einasta  til  J>ess  a5  geta  hrugaft 
saman  au5sefum,  afneitar  sjer  um  alia  J>aegilegleika  lifsins,  alia  )>a 
anaegju,  6em  i  J>vi  er  a5  gjora  vel  ri5  a5ra,  alia  virftingu  segi  eg  J>a, 
\jcr  gefi$  vissulega  of mikift  fyrir  hljobpipu  ybar. 

|>egar  eg  mseti  gleSimandi,  sem  fornar  hverju  tsekifsert  til  a5 
au5ga  sal  sina  e5a  boeta  hag  sinn  a  lofsver5an  hatt,  og  ]?a5  vegna 
eintomrar  holdlegrar  nautnar:  dldnsmabur,  segi  eg  )>a,  Ipjer  baki& 
yhur  bol  en  ei  glefti :  djer  gefS  of  mikib  fyrir  hljobpipu  ybar. 

Sjai  jeg  raann  af  tomri  hjegomadyr5  saekjast  eptir  dyrindis 
fotum,  hussgognum  og  65rum  utbuna5i,  allt  meira  enn  efni  hans 
leyfa,  safna  fyrir  ]>a  sok  skuldum  og  lenda  loks  i  diflissu ;  03,  segi  eg 
}>a,  hann  hefur  diykeypt,  mjog  drfkeypt,  hljobpipu  sina. 

|>egar  eg  sje  fagra,  bliSlynda  meyju,  gefna  ilium  og  hro5alegum 
svola ;  mikil  hormung  er  ]>aft,  segi  eg  ]?a,  ab  hun  skuli  hafa  gef.6 
svona  mikift  fyrir  eina  hljohpipu. 

I  stuttu  mali,  eg  komst  a5  rann  um  a5  mikill  liluti  af  eydum 
manna  kemur  af  }>vi  a5  ]>eir  meta  ranglega  gildi  hluta,  og  gefa  of 
miki5  fyrir  hljohpipur  sinar. 


The  word  Hljothpipan,  literally  translated,  is  a  pipe,  or 
musical  instrument,  made  out  of  a  reed.  These  extracts 
from  Icelandic  literature  are  undoubtedly  very  interesting ! 
If  not  so  readily  perused  as  our  English,  they  at  least  show 
the  literary  taste  of  the  Icelanders,  and  something  of  the 
variety  and  style  of  their  composition.  Here  is  an  extract 
from  a  newspaper  published  in  Reykjavik  a  few  days  after  I 
left ;  a  copy  of  which  I  received  by  mail  after  arriving  in 
New  York. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  291 

From  the  £jot5olfur*  of  Aug.  20th,  1852. 

Eptirfylgjandi  grein  ba5  feroamaourinn  herra  Pliny  Miles  rektor 
herra  Bjarna  Jonsson  at)  lata  prenta  i  J)j6561£i,  og  senda  honum 
svo  til  Vesturheims. 

Herra  Pliny  Miles,  VesturlieimsntaSur  og  meSlimur  Sagnafjelag- 
sins  i  Nyju  Jorvik,  hefur  um  hri5  dvali5  a  fslandi  og  fari5  vi5a  um 
hjer65  landsins.  Harm  hefur  sko5a5  Geisir,  litla  Geisir,  brennistein- 
namurnar  i  Krisivik,  og  harm  kom  upp  a  tindinn  a  Helclu.  Herra 
Miles  hefur  sko5a5  og  aftsett  nokkrar  bsekur  landsins,  og  hefur  hann 
haft  heim  me5  sjer  til  Vesturheims  nokkrar  islenzkar  bffikur.  Stipts- 
b6kasafni5  hefur  sent  boggul  af  bokum  ]?j65b6kasafni  Vesturheims, 
er  Smithson  er  hofundur  a5,  til  endurgjalds  fyrir  dyrar  boekur,  er 
stiptsbokasafnio"  hafSi  nylega  fengi5  fra  bokasafni  Smithsons. 
Herra  Miles  siglir  apostskipinu  til  meginlands  NorSuralfunnar,  og 
tjair  hann  sig  mikillega  ana?g5an  me5  allt,  sem  hann  hefur  sje5  lit 
a  fslandi. 

A  translation  of  this  is  scarcely  required,  as  its  purport 
can  be  readily  seen.  It  is  a  short  article  written  by  Mr. 
Bjarni  Johnson,  for  the  Thiotholfur,  and  giving  an  account 
of  the  author's  visit  to  Iceland. 

In  the  Icelandic,  whole  sentences  from  other  languages  are 
thrown  into  one  word.  The  word  Vesturheimsmathur,  fully 
translated,  is  a  man  who  has  his  home  on  the  western  con- 
tinent. It  goes  on  to  speak  of  this  native  of  the  West,  as  a 
member  of  the  New  York  Historical  Society — "  Sagnafje- 
lagsins  " — and  that,  during  a  somewhat  rainy  period,  he  vis- 
ited Iceland,  traveled  through  the  interior  of  the  country, 
went  to  the  Geyser,  the  little  Geyser,  the  Sulphur  Moun- 

*  "The  Statesman." 


292  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

tains — "  brennisteinnamurnar  " — of  Krisivik,  and  climbed 
to  the  top  of  Hekla.  It  speaks  of  the  visit  as  a  pleasant  one, 
and  that  on  the  return  of  the  traveler  to  America — "  Vestur- 
heims  " — he  took  some  books  from  the  Iceland  public  libra- 
ry— "  stiptsbokasafnith " — as  a  present  to  the  American 
Smithsonian  library,  in  return  for  a  similar  present  formerly 
received  from  Smithson's.  Then  he  journeyed  on  the  mail 
packet — "  postskipinu  " — to  the  continent  of  Europe,  after  a 
long  tour  and  an  agreeable  stay  in  Iceland. 

This  shall  close  our  extracts.  Lest  some  may  think 
that  the  writer  of  this  volume  is  an  enthusiast,  and  over- 
rates the  value  of  Icelandic  literature,  the  following  state- 
ment is  quoted  from  the  preface  to  the  English  translation 
of  Rask's  Icelandic  Grammar,  by  Hon.  George  P.  Marsh, 
and  shows  the  high  estimate  placed  on  the  language  and 
literature  of  the  Northmen,  by  this  eminent  linguist. 

The  translator  cannot  here  enter  upon  so  copious  a  subject 
as  the  character  and  value  of  the  literature  of  Iceland;  and  it  must 
suffice  to  remark,  that  in  the  opinion  of  those  most  competent  to 
judge,  it  has  never  been  surpassed,  if  equaled,  in  all  that  gives 
fcalue  to  that  portion  of  history  which  consists  of  spirited  delinea- 
tions of  character,  and  faithful  and  lively  pictures  of  events  among 
nations  in  a  rude  state  of  society. 

That  the  study  of  the  Old-Northern  tongue  may  have  an  im- 
portant hearing  on  English  grammar  and  etymology,  will  he  obvi- 
ous when  it  is  known  that  the  Icelandic  is  most  closely  allied  to 
the  Anglo-Saxon,  of  which  so  few  monuments  are  extant ;  and  a 
slight  examination  of  its  structure,  and  remarkable  syntactical 
character,  will  satisfy  the  reader,  that  it  may  well  deserve  the 
attention  of  the  philologist. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

MATTERS    PERSONAL,    LITERARY,    AND    GENERAL, 

The  Icelanders,  as  I  have  pictured  them,  are  intellectual 
in  their  tastes  ;  and  in  domestic  life  they  are  highly  social. 
Their  amusements  are  few,  their  enjoyments  being  princi- 
pally in  the  family,  at  their  labor,  and  attending  public  wor- 
ship. Throughout  the  country,  they  gather  from  a  circuit 
of  many  miles,  to  hear  their  ministers  proclaim  "  glad 
tidings,"  and  tell  them  of  the  reward  that  awaits  a  well- 
spent  life.  In  the  long  winter  evenings,  one  member  of  the 
family  is  much  of  the  time  reading  aloud,  while  the  others 
are  engaged  in  domestic  duties,  spinning,  weaving,  knit- 
ting, and  making  clothing  and  domestic  utensils,  in  which 
the  males  as  well  as  the  females,  all  engage.  In  their 
personal  demeanor,  the  Icelanders  are  generally  quiet,  so- 
ber, and  somewhat  taciturn.  A  love  of  amusement,  and  a 
fondness  for  sport,  is  not  common.  Some  of  the  Icelanders 
that  I  have  seen,  have  had  a  great  deal  of  vivacity,  and 
large  conversational  powers.  Some  that  have  visited  foreign 
countries,  have  returned  home  so  impressed  with  their  expe- 
rience of  the  great  and  busy  world  ;  that  they  have  infused 
a  spirit  of  activity  and  inquiry  into  the  whole  circle  where 
they  move.  They  tell  of  one  man,  an  Icelander,  who  got 
off  to  the  continent,  and  went  through  all  the  wars  of  Napo- 


294  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

leon,  and  after  many  years  returned  to  his  native  land.  He 
was  so  glad  to  see  his  own  good  island,  that  he  fell  down 
and  embraced  the  earth,  and  declared,  in  the  words  of  the 
national  proverb,  "  Iceland  is  the  best  country  the  sun 
shines  upon."*  With  all  that  the  poor  soldier  had  seen  of 
the  luxury  and  variety  of  foreign  countries,  there  was,  to 
him,  "  no  place  like  home."  While  the  Icelander  is  fond 
of  conversation,  when  in  the  presence  of  strangers  he 
rather  listen  than  talk.  They  come  well  up  to  Dr.  John- 
son's favorite  character,  a  good  listener.  When  a  foreigner 
calls  at  the  house  of  an  Icelander,  he  attends  first  to  the 
personal  wants  of  his  guest ;  then  he  is  desirous  of  learn- 
ing all  the  stranger  has  to  communicate.  He  is  shrewd  and 
inquisitive,  and  asks  the  most  pertinent  and  ingenious  ques- 
tions, and  never  rests  satisfied  till  he  has  learned  with  great 
minuteness  all  that  the  stranger  has  to  tell  him  respecting 
the  great  world,  and  the  foreign  countries  he  has  seen.  He 
is  always  most  respectful  and  obliging,  and  ready  to  com- 
municate information,  and  answer  questions  about  every 
thing  relating  to  his  country  or  pursuits.  He  seems  to  ap- 
preciate the  greater  amount  of  wealth  and  luxury  abroad, 
and  the  superior  magnificence  and  splendor  of  cities  like 
Copenhagen,  Paris,  London,  or  New  York,  as  compared  to 
his  own  small  towns  ;  yet  his  amor  patriae  and  contentment 
make  him  superior  to  all  temptations  to  emigrate.  His  in- 
dustry, fondness  for  reading  and  conversing,  his  great  integ- 
rity of  character,  a  devotional  spirit,  and  ardent  love  for  the 

*  "  Island  cr  hinn  besta  land,  sem  solinn  skinnar  uppd." 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  295 

precepts  and  practices  of  Christianity — these,  with  his  con- 
tentment and  love  of  liberty,  are  the  most  prominent  char- 
acteristics of  the  Icelander.  They  do  not  show  much  fondness 
for  exact  science,  though  they  pay  some  attention  to  the 
studies  of  geography  and  natural  history.  Having  no  fuel  but 
turf — except  what  is  imported — none  of  the  precious  or  useful 
metals,  no  material,  except  wool,  for  the  manufacture  of 
textile  fabrics,  raising  no  fruits  or  grain,  and  having  little 
use  for  water  or  steam  power,  they  have  few  incentives  to 
exert  themselves  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  chemistry, 
mineralogy,  geology,  electricity,  magnetism,  hydraulics, 
pneumatics,  or  many  of  the  mechanic  and  useful  arts. 
"  Circumstances  make  men,"  or  bring  out  certain  traits  of 
character  ;  and  the  Icelander  forms  no  exception  to  the  gen- 
eral rule.  We*  see  how  he  is  placed.  Obtaining  his  sub- 
sistence from  the  products  of  the  earth  and  the  sea,  engaged 
little  in  traffic,  he  does  not  experience  much  of  the  fraud 
and  wrong  that  is  found  in  the  busy  haunts  of  men ;  and  in 
him  we  see  little  but  the  gentle  and  better  characteristics  of 
our  nature. 

The  Icelander  is  poor,  and  books  are  to  him  a  luxury  ; 
yet  he  possesses  more,  in  proportion  to  his  means,  than  the 
natives  of  any  other  country.  We  shall  see  by  comparison 
and  looking  at  facts,  what  their  intellectual  resources  are. 
The  number  of  books,  of  all  sizes,  published  in  Iceland  in 
each  of  the  years  1847  and  1848,  was  seventeen — thirty- 
four  volumes  in  two  years ;  and  these  for  a  community  of 
60,000  people.  Were  there  as  many  in  proportion  printed 
for  our  population  of  twenty-five  millions,  the   number   of 


296  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

books — distinct  works,  independent  of  periodicals — pub- 
lished annually  in  the  United  States,  would  be  over  seven 
thousand.  The  most  of  the  Iceland  books  are  duodecimos 
and  octavos  ;  the  largest  volume  for  the  year  1847  contain- 
ing 928  pages.  This  was  a  sort  of  "  Congressional  Globe,'' 
though  not  issued  in  numbers — a  record  of  the  proceedings 
of  their  Althing  or  Congress.*  .  This  seems  like  a  pretty 
lengthy  journal  of  a  session  that  lasted  but  little  over  a 
month.  They  passed  a  number  of  acts  of  much  import- 
ance to  the  people  ;  and  very  likely  the  session  was  enli- 
vened with  as  many  "  speeches  to  Buncombe,"  as  we  hear 
in  the  same  length  of  time  on  Capitol  Hill. 

Some  of  the  works  published  in  Icelandic,  are  issued 
from  the  press  in  Copenhagen ;  but  the  majority  of  them 
are  printed  and  bound  in  Iceland.  They  have  several  print- 
ing-presses constantly  at  work,  and  three  newspapers — one 
once  a  week,  and  two  issued  once  a  fortnight.  In  mechan- 
ical execution,  their  books  and  newspapers  are  turned  out 
in  better  style  than  the  average  of  those  issued  from  the 
American  press.  They  are,  however,  always  without  illus- 
trations. 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  Ice- 
landers of  the  present  day  are  a  different  people  from  those 
of  an  earlier  period.  In  former  times,  the  tyranny  of  rulers 
and  the  ambition  of  demagogues,  kept  up  a  warlike  spirit, 
and  an  ardent  love  of  political  liberty.  While  they  were 
less  amiable  and  peaceful,  they  showed,  both  in  letters  and 

*  "Tifcindi  fra  Al>ingi.     Anna5  >ing,  1  Juli  til  7  Agust,  1847." 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  29? 

politics,  a  greater  degree  of  activity.  Lest  it  may  be 
thought  that  I  have  drawn  too  favorable  a  picture  of  the 
early  Icelanders,  I  will  here  give  an  extract  from  a  learned 
dissertation  on  the  history  and  literature  of  Iceland,  by  the 
distinguished  Dr.  (now  Sir  Henry)  Holland,  who  visited  the 
country  in  1810,  in  company  with  Sir  George  Mackenzie. 

Like  the  aurora  borealis  of  their  native  sky,  the  poets  and 
historians  of  Iceland  not  only  illuminated  their  own  country,  but 
flashed  the  lights  of  their  genius  through  the  night  which  then 
hung  over  the  rest  of  Europe.  Commerce  was  pursued  by  the  in- 
habitants with  ardor  and  success  ;  and  they  partook  of  the  mari- 
time adventures  of  discovery  and  colonization,  which  gave  so 
much  merited  celebrity  to  the  Norwegians  of  this  period.  Of  the 
several  features  which  distinguish  this  remarkable  period  in  the 
history  of  Iceland,  the  literary  character  of  the  people  is  doubt- 
less the  most  extraordinary  and  peculiar.  We  require  much  evi- 
dence to  convince  us  of  the  fact  that  a  nation  remote  from  the  rest 
of  Europe,  dwelling  on  a  soil  so  sterile,  and  beneath  such  inclement 
skies,  should  have  sent  forth  men  whose  genius,  taste,  and  acquire- 
ments did  honor  to  their  country,  and  to  the  times  in  which  they 
lived.  Such  evidence,  however,  of  the  most  distinct  and  decisive 
kind,  we  possess  in  the  many  writings  which  have  come  down  from 
this  period  to  the  present  age,  and  in  the  testimonies  afforded  by 
the  cotemporaneous  writers  of  other  countries.  The  reality  of  the 
fact,  indeed,  can  admit  of  no  doubt ;  and  it  is  only  left  for  us  to 
speculate  upon  the  causes  which  led  to  this  singular  anomaly  in 
the  history  of  literature.* 

*  From  "  Mackenzie's  Iceland ;"  "  Preliminary  Dissertation  "  on 
the  Literature  and  History  of  the  country,  by  Dr.  Henry  Holland. 


298  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

The  above  was  written  forty  years  ago,  and  by  one  of 
the  most  intelligent  travelers  that  ever  visited  Iceland. 

I  was  asked  by  the  Icelanders,  if  it  would  not  be  an  ob- 
ject for  some  of  my  countrymen  to  settle  in  Iceland,  and 
teach  them  the  practical  and  productive  arts  as  understood 
in  my  country.  I  told  them,  I  did  not  think  it  would  be  an 
object  for  the  natives  of  any  country  I  knew  to  go  and  set- 
tle there.  The  restrictive  laws  of  Denmark  do  not  favor 
trade  with  foreigners  ;  the  country  produces  too  little  vari- 
ety, and  too  small  quantities  of  suitable  articles  for  exporta- 
tion, to  create  a  trade  of  much  magnitude.  Their  soil  is,  a 
majority  of  it,  entirely  unproductive ;  and  the  balance  pro- 
duces too  little  ever  to  support  a  numerous  population.  The 
articles  they  have  are  good  of  the  kind  ;  they  raise  excellent 
beef  and  mutton  ;  the  wool  of  their  sheep  is  soft  and  dura- 
ble, but  not  fine  or  handsome.  It  is  not  so  good  for  first- 
class  manufactures,  as  the  sheep  are  often  pied,  spotted, 
and  variegated  in  color ;  and  it  is  not  so  good  for  coloring, 
as  they  always  pull  it  off  of  the  animals,  instead  of  shear- 
ing it.*  Fish — salmon  and  cod — are  important  articles  of 
export ;  and  their  horses,  though  small,  are.  very  desirable 
animals.  A  little  larger  than  the  Shetland  pony,  often  of 
singular  color,  hardy,  gentle,  and  docile  ;  for  pony  carriages, 
and   for  children  and  females  to  ride,  I  think  they  would 

*  This  may  be  thought  barbarous  and  cruel ;  but  probably  it  is 
not ;  for  it  is  pulled  at  two  or  three  different  times,  and  only  that 
portion  pulled  off  that  comes  easy.  Then,  perhaps,  too,  custom 
is  something,  like  the  adage  of  the  eels,  &c. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  299 

be  a  desirable  addition  to  our  stock  of  horses  in  the  United 
States.  A  schooner-load  of  them  went  from  Iceland  to 
Scotland,  when  I  was.  in  the  country  ;  and  I  have  no  doubt 
they  sold  at  a  good  profit,  as  the  average  cost  was  less  than 
ten  dollars  a  head.  As  these  animals  are  never  fed  in 
winter,  they  are  necessarily  raised  very  cheaply  ;  and,  were 
trade  open  with  foreign  countries,  I  have  no  doubt  a  great 
demand  would  spring  up  for  them,  and  add  largely  to  the 
profits  of  the  Iceland  farmer.  Apropos  of  this  subject  of 
free  trade,  I  will  here  give  an  extract  from  the  letter  of  an 
intelligent  Icelander,  which  I  have  just  received,  and 
which  was  written  after  the  commencement  of  hostilities 
in  Europe.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  king  of  Denmark 
should  not  open  the  trade  of  Iceland  equally  to  all  nations. 
It  is  not  a  particle  of  pecuniary  benefit  to  his  kingdom,  as 
there  are  no  duties  charged  ;  but,  by  restricting  the  trade  to 
Danish  vessels,  it  is  kept  as  a  kind  of  monopoly  by  a  few 
merchants  of  Copenhagen ;  while  the  poor  Icelanders  com- 
plain greatly  of  the  oppression  and  hardship  of  being  de- 
pendent for  their  foreign  necessaries  and  luxuries,  entirely  on 
a  few  grasping  speculators.  Whenever  the  Iceland  Althing 
passes  an  act  opening  their  ports  to  all  nations,  the  king 
vetoes  the  bill.  They  murmur  at  it  as  great  injustice  ;  but 
what  avail  the  murmurs  of  the  weak  ?  During  the  last  war 
in  Europe — 1810-12 — Denmark  came  near  losing  the  col- 
ony in  two  different  ways.  One  was,  the  enemy  came  near 
taking  possession ;  and  another  escape  they  had,  the 
"  mother  country  "  not  being  able  to  protect  the  island,  or 
send  them  supplies,  the  people  came  near  starving  to  death  ; 


300  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  were  only  saved  from  the  greatest  destitution  by  the 
clemency  and  liberality  of  Great  Britain,  in  treating  the 
Icelanders  as  "  friends,"  while  the  country  was  at  war  with 
Denmark.  If  his  Danish  Majesty  should  feel  compelled  to 
take  up  arms  in  the  present  struggle,  the  island  would  be  in 
similar  peril.  Respecting  this,  and  some  other  subjects,  the 
following  letter,  from  a  learned  Icelander — the  President  of 
the  Iceland  College — will  be  read  with  interest : 

Reykjavik,  March  1st,  1854. 
Sir: 

******* 

As  to  political  news,  I  have  not  much  to  relate ;  nor,  I  am  sure, 
do  you  expect  much  from  this  quarter;  yet,  a  change  is  about  to 
take  place  in  our  commercial  relations.  In  all  probability,  the 
Danish  government  will,  after  a  monopoly  of  two  and  a  half  centu- 
ries, at  length,  this  year,  condescend  to  allow  of  our  free  inter- 
course, for  mercantile  purposes,  with  all  nations.  It  would  be  su- 
perfluous to  write  you  any  thing  about  the  impending  war ;  but  I 
cannot  forbear  stating,  that  in  case  of  war  between  England  and 
Russia,  to  which  Denmark  would  probably  be  constrained  to  be- 
come a  party,  our  situation  here,  in  this  island,  would  needs  be- 
come very  precarious.         ****** 

Sir :  I  should  be  charmed  to  visit  your  stately  country,  to  get  an 
idea  of  her  soaring  aspirations,  to  view  her  wonders  of  civilization, 
with  all  her  rapid  improvements.  She  seems  to  be  the  only  coun- 
try that  at  present  enjoys  the  blessings  of  freedom,  and  on  whose 
soil  liberty  can  prosper.  But  I  very  much  fear  my  desire  of  paying  a 
visit  there  will  ever  remain  a  "pium  votum"  which  neither  my 
financial  circumstances  nor  my  occupation  will  allow  of.  * 

*  *  Though  you  have,  dear  sir,  already  rendered  me 

so  many  important  services,  I  must,  before  concluding  this  letter, 
once  more  importune  you  with  a  boon,  which  is  in  the  interest  of 


RAMBLES    IN  ICELAND.  301 

my  college,  to  procure  me  a  copy  of  the  following  work,  a  most 
excellent  one,  by  one  of  your  countrymen — "  Report  on  Education 
in  Europe,  to  the  Trustees  of  the  Girard  College  for  Orphans,  by 
Alex.  Dallas  Bache,  Philadelphia,  1839."  I  have  made  several  ap- 
plications to  my  bookseller  in  Copenhagen,  but  all  in  vain.  Then, 
I  should  feel  much  obliged  to  you,  if  you  could  procure  me,  by 
the  means  of  your  influential  friends  in  America  and  Great  Britain, 
some  examination  papers  from  some  of  your  colleges  or  schools  of 
England,  especially  from  Eton,  Harrow,  or  Winchester,  containing 
the  questions  put  to  the  pupils,  as  well  as  copies  of  the  best  an- 
swers to  them ;  together  with  specimens  of  their  exercises  in  Latin 
and  Greek.  If  you  could  comply  with  this  desire  of  mine,  you 
would  render  yourself  one  of  the  benefactors  of  our  college.  I 
could  send  the  expense  to  Mr.  Younghusband,  your  correspondent 
in  Liverpool. 

I  remain,  sir, 

Your  faithful  and  obliged  friend, 

Bjarni  Johnson. 
To  Pliny  Miles,  Esq., 
Washington. 

A  man  who  can  write  thus,  who  can  so  express  himself, 
in  the  purest  and  most  forcible  English,  does  not  belong  to 
a  community  of  people  who  are  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
world  at  large,  or  indifferent  to  the  national,  political,  and 
educational  movements  of  the  powerful  nations  of  the  earth. 
If  the  Danish  government  should  open  the  ports  of  Iceland 
to  all  nations,  it  would  be  in  accordance  with  the  advanced 
and  progressive  spirit  of  the  age,  and  while  conferring  a 
great  benefit  on  a  quiet,  peaceful,  and  isolated  colony,  knit 
more  closely  the  ties  of  affection  and  union  between  the  col- 
onists and  the  parent  country.     Then  we  might  chronicle 


302  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

the  arrival  and  departure  of  vessels,  a  little  oftener,  between 
the  northern  isle  of  the  ocean  and  our  own  seaports. 

Last  year,  a  ship  bearing  the  classic  name  of  the 
"  Saga,"*  sailed  into  the  harbor  of  New- York,  direct  from 
Iceland,  being  the  first  arrival  from  that  country  to  this,  in 
a  period  of  more  than  eight  hundred  years  !  I  think  the  mar- 
itime records  of  the  world  would  be  searched  in  vain  for  a 
parallel  case.  The  crew  of  this  ship  were  the  "  followers  " 
of  Eric  the  Eed,  and  his  compeers,  who  discovered  the 
American  continent,  and  gave  it  the  name  of  Vinland  ;  but 
they  were  certainly  a  long  time  in  following  him.f 

*  A  vessel — the  "Baldaur,"  as  it  was  printed  in  the  newspa 
pers — seems  to  have  derived  its  name  from  Northern  Mythology — 
"  Baldur,  the  Fair."  This  ship  was  spoken  of  as  having  sailed  near 
a  steamer  on  the  track  of  the  missing  "  Glasgow."  Now  and  then, 
it  seems,  a  name,  or  maritime  event,  connects  us  with  the  far  north. 

f  Since  the  above  was  in  type,  intelligence  has  arrived  from 
Denmark,  that  a  law  has  just  been  passed,  throwing  open  the  ports 
of  Iceland  to  the  trade  of  the  world.  For  this,  none  will  rejoice 
more  than  the  Icelanders  themselves  ;  for  a  more  relentless,  grind- 
ing, and  hated  monopoly  never  oppressed  a  poor  people.  The 
resident  Danish  merchants  will  now  not  be  able  to  have  every 
thing  their  own  way.  As  the  law  takes  effect  in  April,  1855,  a 
trade  between  Iceland  and  England,  and  Iceland  and  America,  will 
soon  spring  up.  The  articles  that  the  Icelanders  most  require  from 
foreign  countries,  and  the  productions  of  the  island  which  they 
have  to  export,  will  be  found  enumerated  in  preceding  chapters. 


CHAPTER    XXYIII. 

RAMBLES    BROUGHT    TO    A    CLOSE EMBARKATION. 

Though  this  little  book  was  not  written  for  the  Iceland 
market,  I  cannot  help  making  one  or  two  remarks  respect- 
ing their  own  internal  affairs.  Most  undoubtedly  they  have 
learned  more  from  experience  than  a  foreigner  from  a  hasty 
visit  could  teach  them,  but  I  believe  they  do  not  appreciate 
the  productiveness  and  value  of  their  soil.  As  scanty  as  are 
the  agricultural  resources  of  Iceland,  and  as  short  as  their 
seasons  are,  I  am  confident  that  this  "  art  of  arts  "  might  be 
greatly  advanced  here.  Plowing  would,  certainly,  in  many 
places,  greatly  improve  their  land,  smooth  the  surface,  and 
enable  them  to  lay  it  down  with  a  better  quality  of  grass 
Their  seed  would,  the  most  of  it,  however,  have  to  be  brought 
from  foreign  countries.  On  seeing  their  fine  meadows  of 
"red  top" — the  kind  of  grass  most  prevalent, — I  at  once 
told  them  that  the  white,  if  not  the  red  clover,  would  be 
much  more  productive  than  their  native  grasses.  After- 
wards, I  saw  many  farms  in  the  valleys  of  the  Laxa  and  the 
Thiorsa  rivers,  that  were  well  seeded  with  white  clover ;  and 
as  it  was  the  haying  season,  I  could  see  that  these  farms 
yielded  about  double  the  hay  that  other  farms  did,  where 
there  was  no  clover.  The  clover  had  once  been  sown,  and 
then  it  had  propagated  itself.  I  believe  many  of  the  more 
favorably  located  farms  could  be  made  to  produce  barley 


304  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  oats,  if  the  land  were  properly  prepared.  These  grains 
are  raised  in  Orkney,  Shetland,  and  the  Faroe  Isles  ;  and  the 
latter  group  is  but  little  south  of  Iceland.  Nothing  would 
do,  however,  without  plowing ;  and  in  Iceland  never  a  horse 
wore  harness  yet,  so  it  would  take  a  little  time  to  get  such 
a  business  started.  If  the  governor  of  Iceland  were  a  thor- 
oughly practical  man,  he  could  do  much  towards  intro- 
ducing these  and  other  improvements.  A  good  opening 
place  for  the  plow  would  be  the  "  public  square  "  in  Reyk- 
javik, about  two  acres  of  irregular  grass ;  that,  once  broken 
up,  and  leveled,  and  seeded  down  to  white  clover,  would 
make  a  beautiful  village  green.  If  they  had  plows,  they 
would  make  larger  gardens  than  they  now  do  with  the 
spade,  and  more  table  vegetables  would  be  raised.  This 
would  be  conducive  to  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  people, 
and  would,  probably,  in  time,  if  not  entirely  eradicate  at 
least  greatly  reduce  the  diseases  of  the  skin,  and  that  terrible 
plague,  the  leprosy ;  both  of  which  are  somewhat  common, 
and  undoubtedly  produced,  or  greatly  aggravated,  by  living 
to  a  great  extent  on  animal  food. 

The  Icelanders,  like  all  other  ancient  people,  are  ex- 
tremely attached  to  their  own  customs,  and  averse  to  inno- 
vation. I  noticed  one  thing  here,  that — though,  as  Captain 
Cuttle  would  say,  there  was  not  much  wisdom  in  it — is  cha- 
racteristic of  every  people  under  the  sun.  While  fond  of 
every  foreign  article,  particularly  of  ornament,  they  about 
entirely  neglected  the  native  productions.  With  great  pains 
and  trouble,  they  would  rear  in  their  houses,  geraniums, 
roses,  fuschias,  violets,  and  other  exotics,  and  yet  neglect  to 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  305 

plant  one  single  native  flower.  The  beautiful  and  fragrant 
heath,  common  over  much  of  Iceland,  docs  not  grow  within 
several  miles  of  Reykjavik ;  and  yet  not  one  single  resident 
had  .planted  by  his  dwelling  a  stalk  of  this  elegant  little 
shrub,  to  bloom  and  give  out  perpetual  fragrance.  I  saw, 
also,  beautiful  annual  flowers  growing  wild  in  the  fields,  and 
on  the  river  banks,  but  which  were  never  cultivated.  Sir 
George  Mackenzie  has  given  a  list  of  the  Iceland  Flora,  and 
a  pretty  long  catalogue  it  is. 

I  believe  a  carriage  road  could  be  made  in  some  places, 
particularly  between  Reykjavik  and  Havnarfiorth ;  but  then 
it  might  not  pay  to  attempt  to  make  many  carriage  roads, 
and  introduce  wheeled  vehicles  in  Iceland.  If  the  land  was 
leveled  and  seeded  down,  and  bogs  and  wet  places  drained, 
and  converted  into  dry,  productive  meadows,  I  believe  it 
would  be  an  object  for  the  larger  farmers  to  have  carts  to 
draw  their  hay  on,  rather  than  carry  it  in  bundles  on  the 
backs  of  men  or  horses.  Then,  too,  if  their  meadows  were 
smooth  the  product  would  be  much  greater,  and  they  would 
be  able  to  introduce  a  much  larger  scythe  than  the  little 
two-foot  knife-blade  affair  used  there  at  present.  With  the 
improvement  of  their  land,  their  tools  could  be  greatly  im- 
proved. The  population  of  Iceland  has  been  stated  at 
60,000  souls,  and  probably  the  increase  is  not  one-and-a-half 
per  cent,  annually.  Women,  as  well  as  men,  work  in  the 
fields,  during  the  hay  season ;  but,  in  fishing,  the  men  only 
are  engaged.  The  exposure  attendant  on  this  latter  busi- 
ness gives  many  complaints  of  the  lungs ;  and  probably  more 
die  of  consumption  than  of  any  other  disease.  The  plague, 
14 


306  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

about  five  hundred  years  ago,  visited  Iceland ;  but  cholera 
and  yellow  fever  have  never  been  here.  There  are  but  few 
physicians  in  the  country,  and  the  distances  they  have  to 
travel  often  make  their  services  of  no  avail,  Death  calling 
on  the  patient  before  the  doctor  does.  In  countries  of  more 
luxury  and  refinement,  Death  often  calls  soon  after  the  doc- 
tor !  From  what  I  learn,  I  should  judge  longevity  was  not 
as  great  here  as  in  most  countries  in  the  temperate  zones. 

The  last  Sunday  I  was  in  Iceland  I  attended  church  at 
tne  Reykjavik  cathedral.  This  is  a  beautiful  little  edifice, 
of  brick,  with  a  fine  altar — altogether  of  an  ornamental  ap- 
pearance. The  sermon  was  in  Icelandic,  the  service  Luthe- 
ran, but  much  after  the  style  of  the  Church  of  England. 
Three  Sundays  out  of  four,  I  think  it  is,  that  the  service  in 
this  place  is  in  Icelandic,  and  every  fourth  Sunday  in  Danish. 
What  the  use  may  be  of  having  any  service  in  Danish*  is 
more  than  I  can  tell,  for  a  more  worldly,  ungodly  set  than 
the  Danish  merchants  of  Iceland  I  never' saw  in  a  Christian 
country.  At  this  place,  their  example  has  driven  nearly  all 
religious  observances  away  from  the  Icelanders.  Though 
the  day  was  beautiful,  and  but  one  church  in  the  village,  and 
all  professing  the  same  religion,  and  all  the  people,  too,  un- 
derstanding both  languages,  there  were  not,  from  among  the 
twelve  hundred  people  of  the  place,  fifty  worshipers.  This 
certainly  does  not  accord  with  what  I  have  said  of  the  moral 
and  religious  habits  of  the  Icelanders  in  general.  I  do  not 
think  I  do  the  Danes  injustice,  when  I  lay  the  immorality  in 
and  around  Reykjavik  to  their  influence  and  example.  In 
several  villages  and  country  places  I  had  a  good  opportunity 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  307 

of  observing,  and  I  know  that  ten  times  greater  proportion 
of  the  people  attended  church  than  here  in  Reykjavik.  A 
class  like  these  merchants,  who  notoriously  do  nothing  but 
traffic,  make  money,  gamble,  and  drink,  cannot  improve  the 
morals  of  a  simple,  pious,  and  intellectual  people. 

The  people  assembled  at  the  church  very  quietly,  and 
took  their  seats  without  tarrying  at  the  door,  or  entering 
into  conversation.  They  were  all  dressed  neatly,  and  two 
or  three  females  wore  the  ancient  costume  of  the  country. 
It  is  very  picturesque,  but 

"Description  will  not  suit  itself  in  words." 

I  cannot  do  better  than  give  another  extract  from  the 
letter  of  President  Johnson — quoted  in  last  chapter — under 
date  of  March  1st,  1854,  as  well  as  part  of  one  written  the 
November  previous.  Only  a  portion  of  the  letters  are  given, 
and  all  of  this  is  of  a  private  and  personal  nature,  intended 
for  no  eye  but  niy  own.  Barring  the  compliments  that  are 
given,  the  extracts  will  be  read  with  interest,  both  as  show- 
ing the  composition  of  an  Icelander  in  a  foreign  language, 
and  the  educational,  parochial,  and  local  news  communi- 
cated.    Commencing  his  letter  of  March  1st,  he  says  : 

"My  Dear  Sir! 

"I  have  to  acknowledge  from  you  the  third  letter  since  we  part- 
ed— of  Dec.  4th,  last  (Washington) — together  with  a  large  parcel  of 
bool»«,  all  sent  to  me  by  the  care  of  your  friend  Mr.  Younghus- 
band,  at  Liverpool,  who,  besides,  had  the  kindness  to  write  me  a 
very  friendly  letter,  and  send  me  the  last  copies  of  the  leading 
newspapers  of  Great  Britain. — Indeed,  sir,  I  feel  quite  ashamed  at 


308  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

receiving  so  many  proofs  of  your  friendship,  without  being  capable 
of  giving  you  the  least  mark  of  my  gratitude;  for  all  I  can  furnish 
is  our  little  "|>jo$olfur,"*  a  poor  return  for  all  your  liberality.  To 
this  I  take  the  liberty  to  add  an  examination  paper — (Programf) — 
in  Icelandic  and  Danish — of  the  management  and  teaching  of  our 
College,  for  the  year  1852,  '53.  *  *  *  *  I  have  forwarded 
all  your  presents'to  the  persons  interested  that  are  living  here  in 
town  and  neighborhood :  such  as  were  destined  for  the  interior  of 
the  country,  I  must  keep  till  the  spring,  all  communication  there- 
with being  impracticable  except  on  foot.  Now  I  am  charged  with 
the  task  of  bringing  you  their  thanks,  for  your  kindness  in  remem- 
bering them  when  you  had  so  little  to  thank  for.  I  left  your  direc- 
tion with  them,  intimating  that  a  letter  from  them  would  be  much 
esteemed  by  you,  even  though  written  in  Danish  or  Icelandic. 
And  as  to  news  concerning  your  acquaintances  here,  all  is  un- 
changed. None  of  the  ladies  you  mention,  are  married.  The  Misses 
Johnson  are  keeping  a  female  school  pretty  successfully ;  the  Misses 
Sivertsen  living  with  their  parents,  and  I  am  to  tell  you  the  com- 
pliment of  their  father.:):  He  has  delivered  to  me  the  flask  you  so 
kindly  presented  me  with,  and  which  I  shall  keep  as  a  souvenir  of 
you,  though  rather  too  small  for  my  capacious  stomach !  The 
Dean  Johnson  is  going  to  leave  in  March,  to  the  regret  of  his 
friends.  He  is  to  have  another  living  in  the  interior  of  the  country. 
Thorarensen  has  left  the  College,  and  you  will  find  his  name  (S. 
Thorarensen)  as  well  as  that  of  Jon  Sveinson  in  the  examination 
paper  I  send  you  here  inclosed.     Mrs.  Egilson,§  Mr.  Ranthrys,  the 

*  "|)jo5olfur,"  the  Reykjavik  newspaper. 

f  "  Efterretninger." 

I  To  this  excellent  gentleman,  Mr.  Sivertsen,  I  am  indebted  for 
numerous  hospitalities.  Forty-two  years  before,  in  1810,  he  enter- 
tained at  his  house  Sir  George  Mackenzie  and  his  companions. 

§  Widow  of  Sweinborn  Egilson,  a  poet  and  literary  man,  who 
died  a  few  days  after  I  left  the  country. 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  309 

Apothecar}7,  and  his  lady,  Mr.  Jon  Arnason,*  were  all  extremely 
pleased  with  the  JV.  Y.  Illustrated  News  you  sent  them.  I  have 
also  to  salute  you  from  the  Bishop." 

In  Mr.  Johnson's  letter  of  Nov.  15th,  1853,  he  says: 

"I  have  to  acknowledge  from  you  the  reception  of  two  letters; 
the  former  of  Sept.  24,  1852  (Glasgow),  the  latter  of  Sept.  5,  this 
year  (Washington),  both  attended  with  newspapers,  for  which  I 
feel  very  much  obliged  to  you,  as  for  your  friendship  in  general. 
I  am  very  glad  to  learn  by  your  latter  letter,  that  you  are  returned 
sound  and  safe  to  your  native  country,  from  your  long  and  check- 
ered journey.  But  I  trust  you  will  not  repent  the  toils  and  hard- 
ships inseparably  connected  with  such  a  'tour'  almost  around  the 
world.  You  will,  I  am  sure,  allow  of  its  important  consequences 
for  our  own  mental  improvement  and  development  Old  Horace 
says :  '  Qui  multorum  providus  urbes  et  mores  hominum  inspexit — 
latumque  per  ceqicor,  aspera  multa  pertulit  adversis  rerum  immersa- 
bilis  undis.' 

"  I  am  very  much  indebted  to  you  for  the  copies  of  newspapers 
you  so  kindly  have  sent  to  me.  However,  I  deeply  regret  none 
of  them  contained  your  lectures  upon  the  curiosities  of  this  coun- 
try, as  in  general  what  attracted  your  notice  on  your  extensive 
journey.  But  then  I  console  myself  by  your  kind  promise  to  send 
me  a  copy  of  your  Travels  in  Iceland,  when  ready  from  the  press. 
*  *  *  I  have  to  announce  to  you  Jon  Sveinson's  most 
heartfelt  thanks  for  your  letter  of  introduction  to  your  friend  at 
Hull,f  which  benefited  him  very  much  during  his  stay  there  ;  and 
I  feel  obliged  to  join  my  thanks  to  his,  as  it  was  on  my  recom- 
mendation that  you  gave  him  the  said  letter.    Indeed,  sir,  he  feels 

*  Librarian  of  the  public  library  at  Reykjavik. 

f  Mr.  Joseph  "W.  Leng,  Publisher  and  Bookseller,  Saville  street, 
Hull ;  a  gentleman  of  intelligence  and  high  worth,  to  whom  I  am 
indebted  for  many  kind  attentions  to  myself,  as  well  as  for  his 
favors  to  my  young  Iceland  friend. 


310  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

very  much  bound  in  gratitude  to  you  and  your  friends  for  all  the 
kindness  they  poured  on  him.  He  has  now  left  the  college— last 
season — with  a  very  honorable  testimonial ;  and  but  for  the  chol- 
era that  has  been  raging  in  Denmark  during  the  latter  part  of  the 
last  summer,  he  would  have  gone  to  the  University  of  Copenhagen; 
but  now  having  postponed  his  journey  thither  to  the  next  spring, 
he  passes  this  winter  at  his  father's,  who  is  a  reputed  clergyman  of 
easy  circumstances,  in  the  interior  of  this  country.  Jon  Sveinson's 
visit  to  Hull,hasalso  procured  me  a  friend  there.  The  last  sum- 
mer, I  had  successively  received  some  copies  of  English  newspa- 
pers, without  knowing  from  what  quarter  they  came.  I  thought 
of  you  or  some  of  my  other  friends  in  Great  Britain ;  but  a  couple 
of  months  ago  I  received  a  letter  from  Mr.  Archibald  Kidd,  Saville 
street,  Hull  (if  I  decipher  his  name  correctly),  who  informed  me 
that  it  was  to  him  I  was  indebted  for  the  favor  of  the  newspapers, 
and  who  asked  me  some  information  about  the  means  of  studying 
Icelandic  literature,  and  the  method  of  setting  out  about  it.  I 
most  readily  complied  with  his  request,  as  far  as  I  could,  and 
wrote  him  by  the  last  post-ship  for  Liverpool.  As  he  intimated  to 
know  you,  I  expect  you  to  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  in  your  next 
letter  some  information  about  this  gentleman.  *  *  *  I  send 
you  enclosed  a  copy  of  the  TJiiotholfur  for  the  whole  year  1852-53. 
I  wish  you  to  tell  me  whether  I  am  to  continue  it.  This  I  might 
easily  do,  especially  in  the  summer  time,  as  at  that  season  there 
are  frequent  occasions  for  sending  to  England ;  whereas,  in  winter 
it  is  more  difficult,  the  only  ship  going  there  being  the  post  ship, 
and  my  extensive  official  correspondence  with  the  ministry  of  pub- 
lic instruction  seldom  permitting  me  sufficient  leisure  to  write  to 
my  private  friends. 

"  Now,  I  wish  these  lines  may  find  you  in  good  health  and  hap- 
piness ;  and  I  sign  myself,  my  dear  sir, 

"Your  very  much  indebted  friend, 
"To  Mr.  Pliny  Miles,  "Bjarni  JonNSON." 

"Washington." 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  311 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  great  capacity  of  my  friend 
does  not  consist  in  the  appetite,,so  much  as  a  certain  embon- 
point, coming,  as  he  does  partly  up  to  Shakspeare's  descrip- 
tion of  Cardinal  Wolsey — "  a  man  of  an  unbounded  stom- 
ach." 

In  closing  my  account  of  the  Icelanders  at  Reykjavik,  I 
have  to  record  the  pleasure  and  profit  that  I  derived  from 
the  friendly  attentions  of  these  excellent  people.  I  spent 
many  and  most  pleasant  hours  with  President  Johnson,  and 
with  Mr.  Sivertsen  and  his  wife  and  daughters ;  also  a  most 
agreeable  evening  at  the  house  of  the  Dean,  Rev.  Mr.  John- 
son, who  made  a  small  party  on  my  account.  The  young 
ladies  in  this  family,  as  also  in  Mr.  Sivertsen's,  and  Mr.  Ran- 
thry's,  contributed  much  to  the  agreeable  socialities  of  my 
stay  in  Reykjavik.  Were  these  fair  daughters  of  the  North 
to  appear  in  society  in  England  or  America,  a  comparison 
to  their  disadvantage  could  not  be  drawn.  Speaking  sev- 
eral languages — always  two  or  more — good  players  on  the 
pianoforte  and  the  guitar,  skilled  also  in  vocal  music,  and 
to  these  accomplishments,  add  a  knowledge  of  household 
duties,  and  I  fear  that  many  of  the  graduates  of  our  female 
boarding-schools  could  not  successfully  come  into  competi- 
tion with  them.  I  also  partook  of  the  hospitalities  of  their 
most  excellent  bishop,  who  lives  a  little  way  out  of  town,  on 
a  pleasant  part  of  the  coast,  opposite  the  island  of  Vithey. 
Before  leaving  Copenhagen,  and  on  my  return  there,  I 
formed  a  most  agreeable  acqaintance  with  Mr.  Gisli  Brin- 
julfsson,  quite  a  young  man,  but  already  enjoying  a  good 
literary  reputation,  both  in  his  own  country  and  in  Den- 


312  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

mark.  He  is  a  graduate  of  the  Iceland  College,  and  edited 
for  two  successive  years  tl\e  "  Northurfari,"* — an  Iceland 
"  Annual."  This  volume  gives  a  resume  of  the  political 
news  of  the  world  for  the  year  previous,  together  with  tales, 
original  poetry,  and  many  interesting  translations  from  Eng- 
lish and  American  writers.  But  the  time  of  my  departure 
from  the  country,  arrives  and  these  jottings  must  close.  As 
the  vessel  prepared  to  sail,  several  of  my  Iceland  friends 
came  to  see  me  off,  arid  wish  me  a  pleasant  journey.  As  I 
took  their  parting  hands,  I  could  not  but  think  that  this,  in 
all  human  probability,  was  our  last  meeting  on  earth.  Prom- 
ises to  write  and  send  newspapers  were  mutually  inter- 
changed. The  booming  gun  echoes  o'er  the  broad  waters — 
the  sail  is  set — the  mountains  fast  disappearing  in  the  dis- 
tance, and  the  shores  of  Iceland  grow  dim  on  my  sight. 
The  little  ship  with  the  wandering  pilgrim  goes  dancing 
over  the  waves. 

"The  land  is  no  longer  in  view, 
The  clouds  have  begun  to  frown  ; 
But,  with  a  stout  vessel  and  crew, 
We'll  say,  let  the  storm  come  down. 

"  And  the  song  of  our  hearts  shall  be,. 
While  the  winds  and  waters  rave," — 
A  home,  a  home,  on  the  firm-sat  lea  I 
And  not  on  the  bounding  wave  \ 

*  "  jSorSurfari," — literally,  Northern  Journalist. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

And  we  sailed,  and  we  flew,  and  went  near  the  Maelstrom  bay, 
And  we  danced,  and  we  frolicked,  and  we  fiddled  all  the  way. 

Old  Song. 

A  fine  morning  in  August  found  our  little  schooner 
dancing  over  the  waves  of  the  Greenland  strait.  Towering 
up  on  our  right,  was  the  lofty  Snsefell  Jokull,  one  of  the 
highest  mountains  in  Iceland.  It  has  the  regular  conical 
shape  of  most  volcanoes.  .It  is  six  thousand  feet  high,  being 
one-third  higher  than  Vesuvius.  At  this  season  about 
two-thirds  of  its  height  is  black,  and  the  rest  is  covered  with 
perpetual  snow.  When  more  than  fifty  miles  to  the  south, 
I  took  a  drawing  of  it.  It  is  near  the  end  of  a  long  penin- 
sula, south  of  Breithifiorth,  and  very  nearly  the  westernmost 
point  of  Iceland.  The  sharp  outline  of  the  mountain  is  dis- 
tinctly visible  in  the  clear  atmosphere  here  for  more  than  a 
hundred  miles.  This  volcano  has  not  had  an  eruption  for 
several  centuries.  Two  or  three  parties  of  modern  travelers 
have  been  to  the  summit.  They  have  described  the  ascent, 
after  reaching  the  snow-line,  as  extremely  dangerous.  Wide 
and  deep  cracks  in  the  everlasting  ice,  and  treacherous 
bridges  of  snow,  made  the  danger  so  great  that  they  tied 
themselves  in  a  string,  to  a  long  rope,  and  walked  about  six 
feet  apart.  Then,  if  one  man  fell  through  into  a  chasm,  the 
rest  pulled  him  out.  No  lives  were  lost,  however,  in  these 
14* 


314  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

excursions;  the  toil  sweetened  the  pleasure,  the  danger 
spiced  it,  and  they  were  much  gratified  with  their  lofty  jour- 
ney. To  the  east  of  Snaefell  Jokull,  we  sailed  by  Stapi,  a 
small  town  near  some  famous  basaltic  cliffs,  on  the  coast. 
Immense  perpendicular  columns,  and  many  thrown  down, 
give  the  coast  much  the  appearance  of  the  vicinity  of  the 
Giant's  Causeway,  and  the  island  of  Staffa.  The  coast  here 
is  more  varied,  and  the  scenery  more  magnificent,  than  the 
north  of  Ireland ;  but  there  is  no  cave  yet  discovered 
that  will  vie  with  the  famed  one  of  Fingal's.  Some  of  the 
pillars  here  at  Stapi  are  near  eight  feet  in  diameter, 
and  all  of  them  of  the  regular  geometrical  shape  so  often 
seen  in  basaltic  rocks.  They  are  like  the  cells  in  honey- 
combs, but  solid,  and  generally  hexagonal,  but  sometimes 
heptagons  and  pentagons.  Though  the  time  when  these 
basalts  were  in  a  state  of  fusion  is  very  remote,  yet  there  is 
no  doubt  of  their  volcanic  character.  If  geologists  and  min- 
eralogists wish  to  see  volcanic  matter  in  every  variety  of 
form,  let  them  come  to  Iceland. 

We  passed  by  the  Meal  Sack  and  the  Grenadier  Islands, 
the  first  day,  and  rounded  the  long  nose  of  Cape  Reykjanes, 
and  the  second  found  us  driving  before  a  southwest  wind  ; 
due  east,  along  the  south  coast  of  Iceland.  We  sailed  near* 
the  Westmann  Islands,  and  plainly  in  sight  of  the  lofty  sum- 
mits of  Hekla,  Torfa,  Eyjafjalla,  and  Tindfjalla  Jokulls. 
The  most  singular  curiosity  on  the  south  coast  of  Iceland, 
that  can  be  seen  from  the  sea,  is  a  group  of  rocks  that  I 
should  call  The  Needles,  from  their  great  resemblance  to  the 
"  Needles  "  off  the  Isle  of  Wight,     They  are  near  a  little 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  315 

fishing  village  called  Dyarholar,  or  "  Portland."  The  rocks 
are  shaped  a  little  more  like  bodkins  than  needles,  and  some 
of  them  rear  their  pointed  heads  near  a  hundred  feet  high. 
They  all  stand  in  the  ocean,  some  of  them  over  a  mile  from 
land.  As  we  sailed  east,  the  craggy  summit  of  the  Oraefa 
Jokull  showed  his  lofty  and  chilly  head.  The  sides,  too, 
were  visible  as  well  as  the  summit,  and  perpendicular  rocks 
and  dark-looking  caverns  showed  the  foot-prints  of  mighty 
convulsions  of  nature.  The  Oraefa  Jokull,  fonning  part  of 
that  immense  mountain  known  as  Skaptar  Jokull,  is,  as  I 
have  mentioned  before,  the  highest  in  Iceland.  By  trigo- 
nometrical measurement,  it  is  6,760  feet  high.  Snaefell  Jo- 
kull is  6,000  feet ;  Eyjafjalla  Jokull,  5,900  ;  and  Hekla, 
5,700.  The  Thiorsa  river,  a  stream  larger  than  the  Hudson 
or  the  Rhine,  rises  high  up  on  the  side  of  Skaptar  Jokull, 
3,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  in  a  deep  canon 
in  the  lava,  pours  its  resistless  torrent  down  into  the  ocean. 
Its  rapid  and  turbulent  current  may  be  imagined.  These 
mountains  in  the  interior  of  the  country,  the  volcanic  islands 
out  at  sea,  the  rapid  and  powerful  rivers,  the  Geysers,  and 
innumerable  hot  springs,  along  with  the  magnificent  coast 
scenery,  form  the  most  prominent  physical  features  of  Iceland. 
For  two  days  we  were  skirting  the  island  on  the  south 
coast.  This,  and  the  eastern  part  of  Iceland,  has  few  har- 
bors. The  coast  is,  much  of  it,  low  and  sandy,  and  difficult 
of  approach.  Some  years  since,  a  French  vessel  was 
wrecked  here  in  the  winter  season,  and  the  crew  cast  ashore, 
perfectly  destitute.  A  few  poor  Icelanders  that  lived  in  the 
vicinity,  carried  them  to  their  huts,  fed  and  took  care  of  them? 


316  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

and  gave  them  shelter  till  spring.  The  next  summer,  on  the 
annual  return  of  the  French  war-vessel  that  visits  Iceland, 
the  sailors  were  taken  home ;  and  king  Louis  Philippe 
ordered  a  handsome  compensation  and  reward  in  money,  to 
the  Icelanders  who  had  so  hospitably  protected  his  ship- 
wrecked sailors.  They,  however,  did  not  Avish  it ;  said  they 
had  only  done  their  duty,  and  neither  wanted  nor  deserved 
compensation  ;  and  steadily  refused  to  accept  a  single  penny. 
Determined  to  do  something  in  return  for  their  kindness, 
Louis  Philippe  ordered  his  representative  in  Iceland  to  state 
that  he  would  educate  at  the  University  of  France,  four 
young  Icelanders ;  and  the  Governor,  the  Bishop,  and  the 
President  of  the  College,  made  choice  of  the  young  men  who 
were  to  be  recipients  of  the  favor.  At  the  end  of  their  term 
— four  years — as  many  more  were  selected  ;  and  thus  the 
French  government  undertook  the  constant  care  and  ex- 
pense of  the  education  of  four  Iceland  boys,  who  were  ap- 
pointed for  their  ability,  diligence,  and  good  conduct,  to 
receive  the  bounty  of  the  French  government ;  and  all  for 
an  act  of  humanity  towards  a  crew  of  shipwrecked  sailors. 
The  whole  transaction  reflects  the  highest  honor  on  all  con- 
cerned. One  of  the  young  gentlemen  who  was  a  recipient 
of  this  privilege,  was  a  son  of  my  friend  Mr.  Sivertsen.  Af- 
ter the  French  war-vessel,  the  unfortunate  Lilloise,  was 
lost,  or  failed  to  return  from  the  Arctic  sea,  in  connection 
with  one  of  the  expeditions  that  went  in  search  of  her,  there 
was  a  scientific  corps — a  "  Scandinavian  Commission  " — or- 
ganized, of  learned  men  from  France,  Denmark,  and  Iceland, 
to  gather  information,  make  drawings  of  landscapes,  and  col- 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  31  7 

lect  specimens  of  mineralogy,  botany,  and  the  various 
branches  of  natural  history.  The  commission  was  headed 
by  M.  Paul  Geimar,  and  our  young  Icelander  was  one  of 
the  party.  The  results  of  the  expedition,  in  a  scientific  point 
of  view,  were  of  the  highest  value.  A  work  was  published, 
containing  several  folio  volumes  of  plates,  many  of  them  col- 
ored, and  the  Journal  of  the  Expedition,  in  six  octavos  ;  and 
altogether  it  forms  the  most  valuable  work  of  the  kind  ex- 
tant. It  comprises  Iceland,  Greenland,  Lapland,  and  Spitz- 
bergen  ;  and  nothing,  either  of  a  geographical,  scientific,  or 
historical  nature  has  been  omitted.  Along  with  portraits 
of  Geimar  and  others  of  the  Commission,  is  a  "  counterfeit 
presentment "  of  young  Sivertsen ;  and  his  is  one  of  the 
finest  faces  ever  delineated.  It  has  the  lively,  intelligent 
countenance,  lofty  brow,  and  beaming  eye  of  the  Anglo- 
Saxons,  and  equal  to  the  finest  specimens  of  the  Caucasian 
race  in  any  part  of  the  world.  This  promising  young  man 
died  in  France,  a  few  years  after  his  return  from  the  North, 
universally  esteemed  by  all,  and  by  none  more  than  by 
Louis  Philippe  himself. 

But  the  winds  are  drifting  us  lazily  to  the  eastward. 
We  sailed  north  of  Faroe,  and  saw  the  cliffs  of  the  lofty 
Stromoe  towering  upwards  like  the  ruins  of  some  gigantic 
temple.  The  return  voyage  was  all  beautiful  September 
weather.  Our  passengers — except  the  bachelor  of  the  pres- 
ent writing — consisted  of  twelve  young  Iceland  ladies,  and 
a  small  lad  ;  and  we  had  a  regular  "jolly"  time.  Several 
of  the  young  ladies  were  singers,  and  two  of  them  had 
guitars.     Nearly   every   afternoon    we  had  a  dance.     The 


318  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

young  ladies  made  fast  progress  in  English — and  Yankee — 
manners,  customs,  language,  and  dancing.  I  also  got  well 
posted  up  in  Icelandic,  particularly  in  the  sentimental, — or, 
as  Sam  Weller  would  say,  in  the  more  "  tenderer  vords." 
Guitar  music,  Iceland  hymns,  the  violin,  and  "  threading  the 
dance "  on  a  rocking  deck,  were  all  matters  of  every-day 
occurrence.  Did  I  say  every  day  ?  Not  with  me.  But 
the  master  of  the  Soloven,  Captain  Heinrich  StilhofF,  was 
certainly  the  most  reckless,  irreligious  man  for  a  sea-captain, 
that  ever  I  saw  in  my  life.  Had  a  sober  traveler  come 
alongside  of  us  on  Sunday,  he  would  have  been  bothered 
to  have  found  out  what  kind  of  worship  we  had  aboard. 
His  reflections  would  probably  have  been  like  old  Lambro's, 
when  he  returned,  from  his  piratical  cruise,  to  his  island  and 
his  daughter.  Suppose  such  a  one  in  his  yacht  had  come 
up  with  us  : 

A  Christian  he,  and  as  our  ship  he  nears, 

He  looks  aboard,  and  finds  no  signs  of  idling , 

He  hears — alas !  no  music  of  the  spheres, 
But  an  unhallowed,  earthly  sound  of  fiddling ! 

A  melody  which  makes  him  doubt  his  ears* 

The  cause  being  past  his  guessing  or  unriddling : 

But,  lo !  it  is  the  sailors  all  a  prancing, 

The  women,  too,  and  Captain  StilhofF,  dancing! 

It  does  not  speak  well  for  the  Danish  people  and  nation, 
that  their  mail-ship,  the  only  government  vessel  running 
between  Denmark  and  Iceland,  is  commanded  by  a  man  of 
the  character  of  Captain  StilhofF;  and  I  cannot  think  it 
will  long  continue  so.     Commanding  a  vessel  carrying  the 


RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND.  319 

Government  dispatches,  and  having  the  most  popular  and 
direct  passenger  traffic  between  the  two  countries,  a  profli- 
gate who  openly  boasts  of  debauching  his  female  passen- 
gers, defenseless  women,  the  sisters  and  daughters  of  the 
citizens  of  both  countries ;  a  state  of  things  'that  certainly 
does  not  reflect  any  honor  on  the  proprietors  of  the  vessel, 
or  show  much  sagacity  in  their  choice  of  a  commander. 
On,  on,  goes  our  little  bark  ;  the  northern  shore 

"Fades  o'er  the  waters  blue  ; 
The  night  winds  sigh,  the  breakers  roar, 
And  shrieks  the  wild  sea-mew." 

Old  Norway's  coast  appears,  and  we  are  several  days  in 
sight  of  the  brown  and  snowy  mountains,  and  little  villages 
of  wooden  houses.  The  thirteenth  day,  we  passed  Cape 
Lindesness,  and  Christiansand.  We  were  then  within  two 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  Copenhagen — only  a  few  hours' 
voyage  for  a  steamship ;  but  we  had  no  steam  a-board,  ex- 
cept what  might  be  found  in  certain  kettles  and  casks,  and 
these  did  not  aid  our  progress  much.  I  thought  two  days, 
at  farthest  would  suffice  for  the  rest  of  our  voyage  ;  but  Bo- 
reas was  not  in  the  ascendant,  nor  any  of  his  brethren 
either,  much,  for  we  had  very  little  wind  from  any  quarter. 
The  current  in  the  Skager  Rack  took  us  outwardly  about 
two  miles  an  hour,  and  the  wind  was  southeasterly,  and  we 
were  bound  in.  One  tack  would  throw  us  near  the  coast  of 
Norway,  and  the  next  brought  us  along  the  low,  flat  sands 
of  Jutland.  We  progressed  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  miles 
a  day.     Several  huge  steamers  boomed  past  us,  with  their 


320  RAMBLES    IN    ICELAND. 

black  sides,  and  volumes  of  smoke,  and  swift  progress. 
Some  of  them  were  bound  into  the  Baltic,  and  some  out, 
and  some  to  Norwegian  ports.  At  last  we  rounded  the 
Skagen  Horn,  and  entered  the  Cattegat.  Finally,  the  tow- 
ers of  Elsinore  Castle  appeared  ;  and,  a  breeze  springing 
up  from  the  north,  we  dropped  anchor  before  Copen- 
hagen, the  twentieth  day  after  leaving  Iceland ;  and, 
in  a  most  terrible  rain — so  anxious  were  we  to  tread  the 
land  again — all  the  passengers  were  set  on  the  quay,  and 
found  lodgings  amid  the  turmoil  of  a  great  city. 


>-.  UmI 


Ki 


GENERAL   INDEX 


GENERAL   INDEX 


Adam  of  Bremen,  page  41. 

^Etna,  142,  151. 

Agriculture  in  Iceland,  178,  303. 

Almannagja,  73. 

Althing,  or  Iceland  Congress,  42,  45,  78. 

Althing,  Journal  of,  296. 

America  discovered  by  the  Northmen,  36. 

Angelica  Archangelica,  125. 

Angling,  78. 

Annexation  of  an  island  to  Denmark,  148. 

Apavatn  Lake,  97. 

Arbrandsa  river,  115. 

Arnason,  Jon,  Librarian  of  Public  Library,  309. 

Atmosphere,  its  transparency,  141. 

Barrow,  the  English  traveler,  206. 

Bath  in  the  Geyser,  111. 

Beard  a  protection  against  the  elements,  121. 

Beards  worn  in  Iceland,  60. 

Beards  worn  by  the  gods,  249. 

Bessastath,  63. 

Biarni  Heriulfson,  the  First  Discoverer  of  America,  63. 

Birds — the  curlew,  169;  cormorant,  223;  eider-duck,  219;  west- 
ern eider,  221 ;  fulmar,  168;  gannet,  or  solan  goose,  31,  224; 
Iceland  gull,  228 ;  skua  gull,  228 ;  jer-falcon,  230 ;  white  owl, 
229;  penguin,  222;  plover,  169;  pochard,  118;  ptarmigan,  90; 
puffin,  163,  168;  ravens,  114,  170;  sea-fowl  on  the  Westmann 
Islands,  163;  on  the  coast  of  Iceland,  198;  snow-birds,  226; 
tern,  or  sea-swallow,  107,  198. 


324 


INDEX. 


Bjarnarfell  mountain,  112. 

Bjolfell  mountain,  141,  145. 

Blaeksmithing,  89. 

Blue  berry,  the  only  fruit  in  Iceland,  157. 

Books  published  in  Iceland,  295. 

Brsethratunga  church,  119. 

Brandy,  use  of  it  in  Iceland,  180. 

Breithifjorth,  313. 

Briem,  Rev.  Johan,  123. 

Brinjulfsson,  Gisli,  311. 

Bruara  or  Bridge  River,  9*7. 

Bruce's  Address,  in  Icelandic  and  English,  286-7. 

Brydone,  93,  135. 

Caraway  growing  spontaneously  in  Iceland,  125. 

Cathedral  worship  in  Reykjavik,  306. 

Cattegat,  1*7,  21,  22,  320. 

Cave  in  a  hill,  90. 

Cave  of  Surtshellir,  109,  243,  note. 

Christianity  introduced  into  Iceland,  82. 

Christiansand,  23,  319. 

Churchyards  and  burial  customs,  178. 

Clays,  beautifully  colored,  102,  191,  200,  208, 

College  at  Reykjavik,  57. 

Columbus,  his  visit  to  Iceland,  39. 

Copenhagen,  17,  320. 

Craters  of  Hekla,  138,  143. 

Dancing  on  ship-board,  317. 
Danish  laws  in  Iceland,  298. 
Danish  merchants  in  Reykjavik,  30G. 
Dining  on  Mount  Hekla,  140. 
Diseases  in  Iceland,  305. 
Domestic  animals  of  Iceland,  55. 
Domestic  labor  of  the  Icelanders,  58,  293. 

Eddas,  poems  of  the  early  Icelanders,  271. 
Edda,  the  Elder;  ascribed  to  Seemund  Frode,  271. 
Edda,  the  Younger;  ascribed  to  Snorri  Sturlason,  272. 
Egilson,  Sweinborn,  52,  308. 


INDEX.  325 

Eider-down  beds,  127,  218. 

Elsinore  castle  and  town,  17,  22,  320.  - 

Eric  the  Red,  35. 

Ericsson,  descendant  of  Eric  the  Red,  36. 

Exports  of  Iceland,  56,  298. 

EyjafjallaJokull,  142,  151,  160,  315. 

Farming -in  Iceland,  179,  182,  303. 

Farming  tools,  117. 

Faroe  Isles,  24,  25,  233. 

Feasts,  in  old  times,  59. 

Ferryman  on  the  Hvita  river,  185. 

Fish,  Iceland  method  of  curing,  215. 

Fishing  season  in  Iceland,  116. 

Fish  lake,  its  disappearance,  152. 

Finn  Magnusen,  37. 

Finnsen,  William,  Treasurer  of  Iceland,  28. 

Floki,  a  pirate,  170. 

Flower  on  Mount  Hekla,  136. 

Flowers  on  a  desert  island,  121. 

Fourth  of  July  at  sea,  23,  24. 

Franklin's  Story  of  a  Whistle,  in  Icelandic,  289. 

French  officers  traveling  in  Iceland,  66,  70,  76,  84. 

French  vessel  wrecked  in  Iceland,  315. 

Game  in  Iceland,  55,  56,  90,  169,  170. 

GTardar  Swarfarson,  35. 

Garden  vegetables,  62,  179. 

Geimar's  Iceland,  Greenland,  and  Spitzbergen,  317. 

Geographical  names  and  terms,  85. 

Geyser,  Eruptions  of,  105. 

Geyser,  its  appearance  when  still,  100. 

Gissur  Thorvaldsen,  son-in-law  of  Snorri  Sturlason,  274. 

Graba,  a  Danish  traveler  in  Faroe,  236. 

Greenland,  discovery  of,  35. 

Grenadier  island,  31,  314. 

Grcenavatn,  or  Green  Lake,  142,  201. 

Gudmundsen,  Thomas,  175. 


326  INDEX. 

Hacon,  King  of  Norway,  2*74. 
Hafnarfiorth,  63,  213,  215. 
Havamal,  an  Eddaic  Poem,  275. 
Haying  season,  803. 
Heath,  157,  158,  159. 
Heitnskringla,  275. 
Hjalli,  195. 
Hekla,  ascent  of,  132. 

"      Catalogue  of  its  eruptions,  153. 

"      its  height,  315. 

"      its  last  eruption,  in  1845,  134,  138. 

"      seen  from  a  distance,  95,  115,  128,  161,  314. 

"     View  from  the  summit,  140,  151. 
Helsingborg,  21. 

Herdisa,  wife  of  Snorri  Sturlason,  273. 
Hlitharvatn,  198. 
Holland,  Dr.  135,  297. 
"  Horrible  Lava,"  211. 
Horses  in  Iceland,  65,  116,  129,  298. 
Hospitality  of  the  Icelanders,  197. 
Hot  Springs,  187. 
Hraungerthi,  177. 

Hruni,  and  its  hospitable  clergyman,  122. 
Hunting  sea-fowl  in  the  Westmann  islands,  1 63. 
Hvita  or  White  river,  118,  119,  185. 

Iceland,  its  discovery  and  settlement,  35. 

"      its  situation  and  extent,  48. 

"      Hymn,  Jacob  weeping  over  Rachel,  288. 

"       Newspaper,  quotation  from,  291. 

■  Youths  educated  in  France,  316. 
Icelander  in  the  Wars  of  Napoleon,  293. 
Icelandic  language,  270. 

Icelandic  poetry,  its  peculiar  construction,  282. 
Imports  of  Iceland,  56. 

Indians  in  America  in  battle  with  the  Icelanders,  38 
Ingolf,  plants  the  first  settlement  in  Iceland,  35. 
Islands,  Sandey  and  Nesey,  in  Thingvalla  Lake,  92. 


INDEX. 


327 


Johnson,  Bjarni,  President  of  the  Iceland  college  at  Reykjavik,  63, 
66,  74,  11,  217. 
Bjarni,  letters  from,  300,  307,  309. 
"        Misses,  308,  311. 

Mr.  of  Hafnarfiorth,  63,  21  3. 
Jonson,  Rev.  at  Vogsosar,  196. 

Kirkubcer,  139. 
Krisuvik,  200. 

Ladies  riding  on  horseback,  91,  215. 

Laugardalr,  or  Vale  of  Warm  Springs,  94. 

Laugarfjall  mountain,  112. 

Laugman,  or  administrator  of  the  la%ws,  42. 

Lava,  93,  126,  211. 

Lava  from  eruption  of  Mount  Hekla,  134,  146. 

Laxa,  or  Salmon  river,  68,  124. 

Lilloise,  French  vessel  lost  in  the  Arctic  Sea,  316. 

Lindesness,  Cape,  319. 

Literature  of  Iceland,  52,  270,  281. 

Louis  Philippe's  liberality  to  the  Icelanders,  316. 

Markarfliot  river,  161, 

Marsh,  Hon.  Geo.  P.,  opinion  of  the  Icelandic  language,  292. 

Meadows  in  Iceland,  115,  116,  125. 

Meal  Sack  island, .31,  314. 

Milton's  Paradise   Lost,    translated   by  Thorlakson,    53;  extracts 

from,  283. 
Mud  Geyser,  206. 
Myggeness  island,  236. 
Mythology  of  the  Scandinavians,  242. 

"        Index  to,  331. 
Myvatn,  203. 

Needles,  the,  314. 
Newspapers  in  Iceland,  296. 
Newspaper,  quotation  from,  291. 
Ncefrholt,  129,  159. 
NorSurfari,  312. 


328  INDEX. 

Norway,  coast  of,  23,  319. 
Norwegian  collectors  in  Faroe,  240. 

Ornithology  of  Iceland,  218,  226. 

Petrifactions,  191. 

Pfeiffer,  Madam,  95,  123,  161. 

Philmore,  Mr.,  an  English  traveler,  210.  * 

Plum-pudding  Stone,  199. 

Pope's  Essay  on  Man,  in  Icelandic,  53. 

"        "       Quotation  from,  285. 
Portland,  or  Dyarholar,  315. 
Postal  arrangements  in  Iceland,  56. 
Post-ship,  time  of  sailing,  56. 
Products  of  Iceland,  55,  56,  295,  898. 

Ranthrys,  Mr.  308. 

Reindeer  in  Iceland,  55, 170. 

Reykir  Springs,  18*7. 

Reykjaness  Cape,  31,  314. 

Reyjavik,  the  capital  of  Iceland,  32,  306. 

River  of  fire,  149. 

Rolling  stones  down  hill,  130. 

Roses  in  Iceland,  167. 

Ssemund  Frode,  271. 

Sagas,  historical  writings  of  the  Icelanders,  271. 

Scandinavian  Commission,  316. 

Scythes  used  by  the  Icelanders,  115,  305. 

Sharks,  26. 

Ship  from  Iceland;  the  "Saga,"  302. 

Sivertsen,  the  Misses,  and  Mr.,  308,  311. 

Sivertsen,  Mr.,  jun.,  316,  317. 

Skagen  Horn,  320. 

Skager  Rack,  319. 

Skalds  or  Minstrels,  42. 

Skalholt,  44,  172. 

Skaptar  Jokull,  115,  147,  151. 

«        "        Great  eruption  of,  147. 
Skarth,  127,  159. 


INDEX.  329 

Sleeping  in  a  church,  12*7. 

Snafell  Jokull,  151,  313. ' 

Snorri  Thorfinson,  first  European  born  in  America,  37. 

Snow  on  Mount  Hekla,  137,  146. 

Spallanzani,  135. 

Stapi  and  basaltic  cliffs,  314. 

Steam  jet  in  the  Sulphur  Mountains,  205. 

Steam  power  without  fuel,  205,  208. 

Stifftamptman,  45. 

Stilhoff,  Captain,  318. 

Strandar  Kirkja,  197. 

Strokr  or  New  Geyser,  104,  108. 
Submarine  eruption,  147. 
Sulphur  Mountains,  200-208. 
Superstition  among  the  Northmen,  195. 
Surtshellir  cave,  109,  243,  note. 
Sveinson,  Jon,  309. 
Swein  Ethrithson,  41. 
Swimming  a  river,  119. 
Sysselman,  a  merry  one,  173. 

Thingvalla,  43,  73,  78. 

Thingvalla  Lake,  72. 

Thiorsa  river,  115,  126,  159,  172,  315. 

Thorarensen,  Rev.  S.,  177. 

Thorarensen,  Stefan,  178,  185. 

Thorlakson,  Jon,  the  Iceland  Poet,  53,  281. 

Thorlakson's  Translation  of  Milton  and  Pope,  282. 

Thorwaldsen,  37,  52. 

Tindfjalla  Jokull,  142,  151,  160,  314. 

Tin  Tron,  an  exhausted  crater,  94. 

Torfa  Jokull,  314. 

Trade  of  Iceland ;  probable  results  of  opening  it  to  the  world,  299, 

302. 
Trollekone-finger,  or  Witch's-finger,  in  Faroe,  236. 
Trout-fishing  in  Iceland,  74,  76. 

Vestri  Ranga,  river,  129.         * 
Vesuvius,  142,  151. 

Vinland,  the  name  given  to  America  by  the  Icelanders,  3?. 
15 


330  INDEX. 

Vogelberg  chasm,  in  Faroe,  23*7. 

Vogsosar,  196. 

Volcanic  island  rising  from  the  sea,  147. 

Volcanic  sand,  135,  199. 

Voluspa,  the  song  of  the  Prophetess,  2*75. 

Westmann  Islands,  141,  161,  165y  166. 
Whales,  25,  26, 


INDEX 


TO    THE 


rauMnalriau  Unt^Iop 


^Egir,  tlie  deity  of  the  ocean ;  a  Jotun,  249,  258. 

iEsir,  the  gods  of  the  Scandinavians,  242,  246,  265. 

Afi,  grandfather,  and  Ammi,  grandmother,  and  their  descendants, 
268. 

Ai,  great  grandfather,  and  Edda,  great  grandmother,  and  their  de- 
scendants, 268. 

Annar,  husband  of  Night,  and  father  of  Jord,  254. 

Arvak  and  Alsvid,  the  horses  of  Sol,  255. 

Asgard,  the  city  of  the  iEsir,  or  home  of  the  gods,  246 

Ask  and  Embla,  the  first  man  and  first  woman,  268. 

Audhumla,  the  cow  on  whose  milk  Ymir  subsisted,  243. 

Baldur  the  Good,  son  of  Odin,  248,  266. 

his  death,  263. 
Beli,  a  giant,  slain  by  Frey,  250. 
Bergelmie,  a  frost-giant,  244. 
Besla,  wife  of  Bor,  243. 

Bifrost  the  Rainbow,  a  bridge  from  earth  to  heaven,  246. 
Bilskirnir,  the  mansion  of  Thor,  248. 
Bor,  father  of  Odin,  Vili,  and  Ve,  243. 
Bragi,  the  god  of  Poetry,  son  of  Odin,  249. 
Breidablik,  the  mansion  of  Baldur,  248. 
Bur,  the  father  of  Bor,  243. 

Castes,  or  classes  in  Scandinavian  society,  269. 


332  MYTHOLOGICAL    INDEX. 

Day,  son  of  Night  and  Delling,  254. 
Dwarfs,  253. 

Eir,  presides  over  the  art  of  healing,  252. 
Embla,  the  first  woman,  268. 
Elvidnir,  the  hall  of  Hela,  256. 

Fenrir,  a  wolf,  offspring  of  Loki,  255,  265. 

Fensalir,  the  mansion  of  Friga,  252. 

Forseti,  the  god  of  Justice,  249. 

Freki  and  Geri,  Odin's  wolves,  246. 

Frey,  the  son  of  Njord  and  Skadi,  250. 

Frey  in  battle  with  Surtur,  265. 

Freyja,  daughter  of  Njord,  and  wife  of  Odur,  250,  252. 

Friga,  wife  of  Odin,  24*7,  252. 

Fulla,  a  maid,  attendant  of  Friga,  252. 

Garm,  a  dog  that  kills  Tyr,  266. 

Gefjon,  a  maid,  attendant  of  Friga,  252. 

Gerda,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  women,  250. 

Geri  and  Freki,  wolves  of  Odin,  246. 

Ginnungagap,  the  space  between  the  upper  and  lower  worlds,  243. 

Gjallar-horn,  the  trumpet  of  Heimdal,  251,  265. 

Gladsheim,  Odin's  hall  of  Justice,  258. 

Gleipnir,  a  fetter,  255. 

Glitnir,  the  mansion  of  Forseti,  249. 

Gna,  messenger  of  Friga,  253. 

Golden  Age,  258. 

Gulltopp,  the  horse  of  Heimdall,  251. 

Hati  and  Skoll,  two  wolves,  255. 

Heimdall,  the  sentry  of  the  gods,  251,  265,  266. 

Hel  or  Helheim,  the  abode  of  Death,  256-258. 

Hela,  or  Death,  255,  256. 

.Hermod  the  Nimble,  son  of  Odin,  246,  263. 

Hlidskjalf,  Odin's  throne,  246. 

Hnossa,  daughter  of  Odur  and  Freyja,  252. 

Hodmimir's  forest,  where  Lif  is  concealed,  266. 

Hodnr,  a  blind  deity,  251,  263,  266. 


MYTHOLOGICAL    INDEX,  333 

Hofvarpnir,  the  horse  of  Gna,  253. 

Hrimfaxi,  the  horse  of  Night,  254. 

Hringljom,  the  ship  of  Baldur,  263. 

Hugin  and  Munin,  Odin's  ravens,  246.  # 

Hvergelmir,  a  fountain  in  Nifiheim,  243,  245. 

Hymir,  a  giant,  259. 

Hyrrokin,  a  giantess  of  Jotunheim,  264. 

Ida,  a  plain  where  Asgard  formerly  stood,  266. 
Iduna,the  goddess  of  Eternal  Youth,  249. 

Jotunheim,  or  land  of  giants,  245. 
Jotuns,  giants  of  Jotunheim,  245. 

Lif  a  woman,  and  Lifthrasir  a  man,  who  survive  the  destruction  of 

the  world,  266. 
Lofna,  the  friend  of  Lovers,  252. 
Loki,  the  god  of  all  evil,  255,  259,  263,  265,  266. 

Magni  and  Modi,  sons  of  Thor,  248,  252,  266. 

Manheim,  the  home  of  man,  24*7,  268. 

Mani,  the  Moon,  254. 

Midgard,  or  Mid-earth  244,  24V.    . 

Midgard  serpent,  255,  256,  265. 

Mimir  and  Mimir's  "Well,  245. 

Mjolnir,  Thor's  Mallet,  247. 

Modi  and  Magni,  sons  of  Thor,  248,  252,  266. 

Munin  or  Memory,  one  of  Odin's  ravens,  246. 

Muspell  or  Muspelheim,  the  upper  world,  242. 

Mythology  of  the  Northmen,  242. 

Nanna,  wife  of  Baldur,  249,  264. 
Nidhogg,  a  dragon,  245. 
Nifiheim,  the  lower  world,  242. 
Night,  the  daughter  of  Njorvi,  254. 
Njord,  the  ruler  of  the  sea,  250. 
Njorvi,  a  giant,  father  of  Night,  254. 
Norns,  inferior  deities,  253. 

Odin,  the  supreme  head,  leader  of  the  JEsir,  and  father  of  all  the 
gods,  170,  244,  245,  246,  247,  266. 


334  MYTHOLOGICAL    INDEX. 

Ragnarok,  the  end  of  all  things,  256,  265. 

Ran,  wife  of  iEgir,  249. 

Ratatosk,  the  squirrel  on  the  Ash,  245. 

Rinda,  the  mother  of  Vali,  251. 

Roskva  the  Quick,  attendant  of  Thor,  248,  259. 

Saga,  the  goddess  of  history,  252. 

Skadi,  the  wife  of  Njord,  250. 

Skidbladnir,  a  famous  ship  belonging  to  Frey,  266-7. 

Skinfaxi,  the  horse  of  Day,  254. 

Skirnir,  messenger  of  Frey,  250. 

Skoll  and  Hati,  wolves  that  pursue  the  sun  and  moon,  255. 

Sleipnir,  the  horse  of  Odin,  246. 

Sokkvabek,  the  house  of  Saga,  252. 

Sol,  the  source  of  light,  254. 

Surtur,  chief  of  the  chaotic  demons,  242,  265. 

Surturbrand,  or  fire  of  Surtur,  109,  242,  note. 

Thjalfi,  the  Nimble,  attendant  of  Thor,  248,  259. 
Thor,  son  of  Odin,  the  god  of  Thunder,  128,  247. 
Thor  encounters  the  Midgard  serpent,  262-265,  266. 
Thor's  adventures  in  Jotunheim,  258,  259,  260,  261. 
Thrudyang,  the  home  of  Thor,  248. 
Tyr,  the  god  of  Bravery,  255,  259. 

Ullur,  the  archer,  son  of  Sif,  251. 
Utgard,  a  city  in  Jotunheim,  260. 
Utgard-Loki,  King  of  Utgard,  260. 

Valaskjalf,  the  mansion  of  Odin,  246. 

Valhalla,  the  home  or  world  of  the  slain,  253,  256,  257,  258. 

Vali,  son  of  Odin  and  Rinda,  251.  225,  266. 

Valkyrjor,  the  goddesses  of  Valhalla,  253. 

Vidarthe  Silent,  son  of  Odin,  251,  252,  266. 

Vigrid,  the  last  battlefield  of  the  gods,  265. 

Vili  and  Ve,  sons  of  Bor,  244. 

Vora,  the  punisher  of  perjured  lovers,  252. 

Yggdrasill,  the  Ash  tree,  245. 

Ymir,  progenitor  of  the  Frost-giants,  243,  244. 


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